candyslim wrote:I don't believe Joshua is scared of Wilder or anybody else. He just concentrates on honing his skills and knocking out the opponents chosen for him by Eddie Hearn or by the IBF / WBA, via Eddie Hearn.
Hearn isn't exactly a timid matchmaker for his fighters AJ fought four unbeaten fighters in succession culminating in the Martin fight. Hearn is mindful of the mandatories and of making the best commercial decisions. It was expected that AJ would defend next against Ortiz and you can bet your bollocks there'd have been no cancellation resulting from controversial drug testing or anything else, the fight would have gone ahead as planned just like all the others.
So what's next assuming he gets past Pulev? Depends on the WBA I guess. Putting that aside does Eddie want Deontay? Well yes, but he's in no hurry, why should he be? AJ's just beaten the best and is now facing a genuine top 6. The fight can become massive but at the moment Wilder is an untested (at the highest level) belt-holder, who does little but run his mouth. He isn't widely known even in the US, and represents a high risk compared to other opponents. Boxing is a business, Wilder understands that. It's why Ortiz was ignored for years, it's why Deontay never wanted to unify while Klitschko was looking invincible, he's not stupid, he's aware of his limitations.
I daresay there's than element of spite in Eddie's attitude too. He made Wilder a massive offer to fight Whyte in London which would have increased Wilder's profile tenfold in the UK. Wilder basically told Hearn to go f ... himself so Hearn wouldn't be human if he wasn't going to enjoy giving a bit of it back. Personally I'm quite happy to wait for this fight however long it takes. I'm getting quite used to not watching Deontay fight the best available, and after the Ortiz circus I'm pretty much past caring. It's almost more entertaining to watch the manoeuvring of Deontay's people desperately trying to balance keeping him unbeaten with keeping him relevant. Every time they are involved in another controversy they are alienating more and more fight fans in the process and testing the blind loyalty of others, as they frantically try to land his mega-payout against Joshua before Wilder gets whupped by Joe Schmoe.
In the meantime if a few Wilder nut-huggers want to flaunt their double-standards by criticising Joshua, I don't suppose AJ gives a flying one.
candyslim wrote:I don't believe Joshua is scared of Wilder or anybody else. He just concentrates on honing his skills and knocking out the opponents chosen for him by Eddie Hearn or by the IBF / WBA, via Eddie Hearn.
Hearn isn't exactly a timid matchmaker for his fighters AJ fought four unbeaten fighters in succession culminating in the Martin fight. Hearn is mindful of the mandatories and of making the best commercial decisions. It was expected that AJ would defend next against Ortiz and you can bet your bollocks there'd have been no cancellation resulting from controversial drug testing or anything else, the fight would have gone ahead as planned just like all the others.
So what's next assuming he gets past Pulev? Depends on the WBA I guess. Putting that aside does Eddie want Deontay? Well yes, but he's in no hurry, why should he be? AJ's just beaten the best and is now facing a genuine top 6. The fight can become massive but at the moment Wilder is an untested (at the highest level) belt-holder, who does little but run his mouth. He isn't widely known even in the US, and represents a high risk compared to other opponents. Boxing is a business, Wilder understands that. It's why Ortiz was ignored for years, it's why Deontay never wanted to unify while Klitschko was looking invincible, he's not stupid, he's aware of his limitations.
I daresay there's than element of spite in Eddie's attitude too. He made Wilder a massive offer to fight Whyte in London which would have increased Wilder's profile tenfold in the UK. Wilder basically told Hearn to go f ... himself so Hearn wouldn't be human if he wasn't going to enjoy giving a bit of it back. Personally I'm quite happy to wait for this fight however long it takes. I'm getting quite used to not watching Deontay fight the best available, and after the Ortiz circus I'm pretty much past caring. It's almost more entertaining to watch the manoeuvring of Deontay's people desperately trying to balance keeping him unbeaten with keeping him relevant. Every time they are involved in another controversy they are alienating more and more fight fans in the process and testing the blind loyalty of others, as they frantically try to land his mega-payout against Joshua before Wilder gets whupped by Joe Schmoe.
In the meantime if a few Wilder nut-huggers want to flaunt their double-standards by criticising Joshua, I don't suppose AJ gives a flying one.
