DEONTAY WILDER has claimed an undisputed heavyweight showdown with Anthony Joshua fell through because the Brit’s team were scared he’d lose the fight.
A blockbuster unification fight between the pair was on the cards in 2018 when Wilder held the WBC title and Joshua owned the WBA, IBF and WBO belts.
Deontay Wilder was on a collision course with Anthony Joshua when he was WBC champ
A blockbuster undisputed fight with AJ never came to fruition
Wilder has claimed Joshua’s team swerved the fight in order to protect him
The eagerly-anticipated grudge match, however, failed to come to fruition, with Wilder insisting Joshua’s team scuppered the fight in an attempt to protect him.
The Bronze Bomber said: “Boxing is a business and I’m here to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
“I have no reason to lie in this gladiator sport but some people are choosing not to believe what I say when I tell the truth.
“Everybody picked me to beat Joshua and that’s the reason why they [Joshua’s team] didn’t want to make the fight before.
“That was the reason why they took me on a six-month rollercoaster because they did everything to avoid the fight.
“They did not want to fight.”
AJ promoter Eddie Hearn reached out to Wilder’s representatives last month to gauge their interest in the fight.
Wilder said: “Fast forward years and now we’re seeing it.
“We’ll see because we ain’t b***********.
“I hate talking about those guys because they put a bad taste in my mouth every time.
“These promoters, managers and s*** like that get in the way of big fights happening because of their greed.”
Wilder, 36, snubbed a lucrative deal to face Joshua in order to rematch Tyson Fury following their controversial draw in December 2018.
In a fiery Twitter rant at The Gypsy King, the American said: “When that fight was a draw, I told you that I would give you a rematch.
“You know I was offered more money to fight Joshua than I was getting to fight you.
“Again being a man of my word, I fought you like I said I would.”
Wilder returns to the ring next month for his first outing since his brutal knockout loss to Fury last October, locking horns with former sparring partner Robert Helenius in New York.
Joshua, meanwhile, is set to return to the ring in December following his split decision defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi last month.
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