Boxer, Deontay Wilder, blamed Anthony Joshua’s lack of confidence for his defeat in his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk on Sunday morning.
According to The Punch, although analysts credited Joshua’s improvement in Saudi Arabia following his loss to Usyk last year, Wilder opined that Joshua showed a lack of confidence in the build-up to the fight which affected his mentality.
Wilder, who is set for a ring return on October 15 against Finland’s Robert Helenius, said the body language of the 32-year-old oozes lack of confidence, a trait that gave his opponent the victory.
“Sometimes you just look at both fighters, and sometimes the eye test will tell it all,” Wilder told ESNews.
“The body language is telling a story, the way the momentum of a fighter is telling a story, you could look at Usyk and tell how confident he was, how the tables have turned, you could tell he owned it, he feels like who he is.
“With Joshua, you could tell that he wasn’t himself, his usual self of being motivated and secure within himself.
“You could just easily tell, then from the last fight, you can go off the last fight, certain things that happened, you just had that feeling.
“We all know Joshua has stamina problems and different things like that. We always felt he’s too big, for certain things he’ll do he’s not getting enough oxygen in his muscles.
“Like I’ve always said, they’ve given him everything. When you give a man everything and then when it’s time to really bite down on the wire, how far can you go?”
When asked about Joshua’s behaviour in the immediate aftermath of his defeat to Usyk, Wilder said, “I think the meltdown comes when you create such a fighter, you give them everything, you create, you bring them along, you try to avoid all the tough fights and stuff like that, and then when it boils down to the wire and things start going downhill, then you really don’t know who to trust, who to believe, you’ve been listening to all this fake stuff.
“You have enough to break down, maybe he’s got mental health [issues], I think we all have mental health, all of us.
“I advise all fighters to get MRIs, CT scans, brain scans because we have things internally going on that we may not feel, we can feel great all the time but the tests say something different.
“I say that from experience, the head is not meant to be hit in the first place, at all, any doctor will tell you that. It’s very important for us fighters to go get checked out every fight, no matter what. Win, lose or draw, I’m going to say a lot of careers and a lot of lives by saying that if they follow what I’ve been saying.
“I follow my own lead and advice and look what position I’m in now.”
Deontay Wilder claims he was approached by Eddie Hearn to fight Anthony Joshua before his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.
He also claimed to have received an offer from Eddie Hearn before Joshua’s fight with Usyk and suggests that was a sign the promoter did not have full confidence in Joshua’s ability to reclaim the heavyweight titles in Saudi Arabia.
“Eddie Hearn came to us, after everything is over with my fight, talking about offering a deal,’ said Wilder.
“My thing is we’re busy. For me, it’s easy to see what was going on. Boxing’s solely a business, it’s not a sport. It’s strictly a business.
“But he was trying to contact us for reassurance. All of a sudden you want to make a fight because even yourself don’t have confidence in your own fighter that he was going to win.
“For me, he was trying to make a deal to ensure he can lock something in.
“But the thing about it is when you lose that price goes up. He ain’t going to get no solid deal locked in. We’re not stupid, when you’re running a business you’ve got to have a business mindset and think that way.
“If I didn’t have a business mindset and thought how I thought I would never be in the position I’m in. I don’t have to do this, ever, I’m proud to say that. How many fighters can truly say they never have to turn to the ring again?”
