Anthony Joshua believes he will fight Deontay Wilder.
The heavyweight contender, who is set to face Jermaine Franklin on April 1 in London (DAZN), told iFL TV Thursday that the meeting between the two former world champions is “long overdue.”
Joshua is 33, Wilder 37.
“It will happen and I think it’s been long overdue,” Joshua said. “It’s a conversation that has been happening for a long time. For me to sit here and say ‘it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen’, it will feel like I’m just waffling again.
“When it does, it does, and it will. That’s just me certifying it. I don’t need to sit here and talk about it, and go on and on and on because I’ve been in that realm before, where we spoke about it and it didn’t materialize.
“When it materializes, it will happen, and I’m confident.”
Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) is coming off back-to-back decision losses to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and last August, the first of which cost him three of the four major heavyweight titles.
He has since announced that he will work with trainer Derrick James for the fight with Franklin (21-1, 14 KOs). James trains titleholders Errol Spence Jr. and Jermell Charlo.
Franklin, from Saginaw, Michigan, is coming off the only loss in his career, a majority decision against Dillian Whyte in November. He’s about a 10-1 underdog against Joshua (average of multiple outlets).
Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) rebounded from back-to-back knockout losses against Tyson Fury to stop Robert Helenius in one round in October.
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