"I mean, if you look at Joshua, Klitschko, and Parker, Parker has the WBO belt, and you take those 3 and put me up on a chart and say which one would be the most exciting fight, a lot of people would think the Joshua fight would be the most exciting fight out of the three and I think I agree...I definitely feel like I'm on a whole 'nother level than Joshua. I've been in this game for awhile now...I definitely feel and know that I'm in another league of my own when you compare the two of us," stated heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, who shared his thoughts on fellow heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. Check it out!
BT: Do you have a preference on which champion you'd like to face first?
DW: I mean, if you look at Joshua, Klitschko, and Parker, Parker has the WBO belt, and you take those 3 and put me up on a chart and say which one would be the most exciting fight, a lot of people would think the Joshua fight would be the most exciting fight out of the three and I think I agree. You know, a lot of hype has been built up around Joshua being that he's in England. I think they got some wonderful fans there in England and they built the hype behind him very well. I think that's the fight that everyone wants to see, Joshua and Wilder. I think because of our physical attributes about ourselves. I'm the athlete, you know; he's more of the bodybuilder type of athlete guy. Just having that athleticism in the ring, that's what people want to see. Just like with Washington, he was an athlete as well with an athletic build. People love to see two fighters that look like they're in shape. It makes it seem like it's going to be a great fight and that they're both going to give their best in the fight and they're gonna perform and live up to the hype that was built around the fight. I'm looking forward to all of them, but I think Joshua would be the ultimate fight as far as excitement and hype for the fans that would want to see an ultimate unification bout. I think that would be the man.
BT: Your critics say that you're raw and still learning on the job, but you've had 38 fights as a pro compared to 18 for Anthony Joshua. What's your take on Joshua as far as where he's at in the game right now?
DW: I definitely feel like I'm on a whole 'nother level than Joshua. I've been in this game for awhile now. I'm very experienced. I think I've seen every style to see, you know, the major styles that I need to see. I think I've seen it, I've learned it, and that's what allows me to adjust in the ring and do my thing. I definitely feel and know that I'm in another league of my own when you compare the two of us. But time will tell when we can get in the ring and see who's the best man. If he continues to win and do what he gotta do, I'm definitely going to continue to win and do what I gotta do, and hopefully we can meet at the end of the year and put on a super mega-fight for the fans. Like I said before, whoever wins will take away bragging rights, all the titles, and be considered the baddest man on the planet. That sounds wonderful to me. I'm ready for whatever, whenever, wherever. I'm a fighter that I'll go to anybody's backyard; I'll go to your country to whoop you to make my point. That's what type of fighter I am. I'm a global fighter. I love to travel around the world. I'm not just one of these fighters that just stays at home because I feel like I'm going to get cheated if I go anywhere else. Hey, let's do it. Let's make a fight. Let's make it happen. Whatever it's going to be, let it be and let's get it on because at the end of the day, it's only me and you in the ring. Nobody else can help you. When it's me and you in the ring, that's all the chance that I need from any fighter in the world. Just me and you; make that bell ring and watch the magic happen.
BT: Why is that, Deontay? A lot of fighters are reluctant to fight on foreign soil. Why are you so willing to travel to someone else's backyard when you could just stay here in the States fighting?
DW: Guys are just fearful of traveling to other countries because they feel like that person is going to have their judges, their referees, and, you know, just that doubt in the back of their mind of, "I'll probably have to knock that person out to win." I think that's where they go wrong. We all know the politics of boxing, that is real, of course, but you can't have a mindset putting pressure on yourself thinking that you need to do something in order to win in certain places. Although sometimes that may be fact, but you don't want to put that pressure on yourself. You just go in there and do what you know you can do and may the best man win. If you come up short, then hey, it's always time to pick yourself up, dust yourself up, and get back up in there. People are afraid to lose nowadays; they're afraid to lose that 0 behind them, but you can't worry about that. I don't worry about whether I'ma lose or not. I ain't worry about having a clean record because through it all, look at all the greats that came before our time. Losing made them great because they picked themselves up, they dusted themselves off, and they got their ass right back up in the mix of things and they became champions all over again. So you can't be fearful of losing. You just gotta go in there and give it all you got and give the best show that you can possible. Only a few fighters think that way and feel like they can travel. I love traveling. It gives other people in other countries an opportunity to see you because everyone can't travel. Everyone are not in a position or fortunate enough to travel and you've got big fans all over the world. Some people are already right now saying, "I will never see this man ever in my life." But hey, at some point in time where a fight has happened and guess what, it's in your country. Now they're excited they get to see you. Everybody can't travel to America to come and see fights. I want other fan bases outside of America to get an opportunity to see me, even feel me, be in the presence of me to see that I'm a real guy, I'm a real fighters, and here I am. For that reason, yeah, I love traveling and whatever it may be, I just want the best fights, I'm gonna unify the division, and I'm going to make boxing great again.
BT: What if you pull a Mayweather and stay undefeated for your entire career? Will that make you less great if you're never forced to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and become a champion all over again?
DW: I mean, you know, everybody has their own opinions about things. I'm not going to be able to change some people's opinions; I haven't been able to do it thus far. I've changed some and some have stayed the same. Some people have their own opinion no matter what you do. I only can do what Deontay Wilder can do and that's to box and be happy doing it. I'm not worried about what other people think. It's all about how I feel, at the end of the day, because I'm the one that's taking the most risk out of everybody, besides my opponent, and that's risking my life in the ring. I tell fans all the time that it's not cool for fans to say, "Well, we pay our hard-earned money to see fights. We want to see this, we want to see that." I always come back with a counter attack and tell them, "We pay something more than money. We pay our life to entertain you." Hey, a life and your little measly couple of dollars; some of them sitting way up in the nose bleed seats and you talking about you paying your money. Come on, man, I'm paying a life. It don't even add up. But you know, we love the sport; that's why we in it, that's why we do it. But I think people need to show a little bit more respect for fighters. I think they should show just as much respect if they see them in person up close than if they don't see them and they're away on the computers. On the computers and you away talking, your mouth is going to be looser to express yourself and say things that you wouldn't say if that person was right in front of you. So I think people should conduct themselves accordingly. Just imagine if that person was in front of you. Would you say these things that you would say if he wasn't? They should conduct themselves that way to all fighters, no matter what type of caliber of fighters, all fighters, because if they step in that ring, then they're risking their lives. With that being said, that right there alone, you take your hat off and you applaud that guy because, hey, this is a dangerous, I mean dangerous sport, man. I only got 10 years and I want to get out!
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