Wilder: Joshua fight is the closest it's ever been

Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua – credit AP Photo/PA

Deontay Wilder is “looking through” Joseph Parker to a potential fight with Anthony Joshua that looms ahead of him for 2024.

Both Joshua and Wilder are boxing on the same bill on Saturday against different opponents, with the expectation that they will finally fight in Saudi Arabia next year.

“That’s the biggest fight in the world,” Wilder told Sky Sports. “Now the moment has come where it’s the closest that it’s ever been in history right now. The closest that it’s ever been.

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“I’m excited to say that. I’m not 100 percent sure that it’s going to happen. There’s a lot of things that has gone on, a lot of things that has been done.

“You can’t be 100 percent until that bell rings and that first punch has been thrown.”

Wilder and Joshua have been linked for much of their professional careers, with substantive talks for a fight taking place as far back as 2018 when the pair held all four of the major world titles between them.

Previous negotiations however have always ultimately failed.

“It’s been that way for a very long time. That fight, it’s a situation where it’s been hot and cold and every time the talks happened, it always gets back hot and then somehow it would die back down, it don’t happen,” Wilder said.

“If I said I wasn’t frustrated I would be lying. It definitely has been a frustrating time and moment for me.

He claimed: “In my eyes you’ve got one fighter that really, really wants it and then on the other side you’ve got another fighter that don’t want it equally as bad as the other.”

Wilder though insists it won’t be distraction ahead of his fight with Joseph Parker that is happening this Saturday.

“You definitely don’t want to take anyone for granted. You don’t want to look past anyone. I’m not looking past Joseph. There are a lot of talks about other things that’s not related to him and I want people to understand I’m not looking past him,” the American said.

“Sometimes it’s okay to look through a fighter. It’s just like window shopping you’re going to the mall and you see that nice outfit or shoes or anything that you want, you’re just window shopping right until it’s time to be able to get it.

“So I’m window shopping but I’m not looking past him.

“Right now it’s about Joseph Parker and me getting him out the way and then we’ll see what happens from that point on.”

Day of Reckoning featuring Anthony Joshua vs Otto Watlin and Deontay Wilder vs Joshua Parker is live on Saturday December 23. Sky customers can purchase on TNT Sports Box Office at www.sky.com/boxoffice/tnt-sports/day-of-reckoning