Nigerian-born world heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Olaseni Oluwafemi Joshua will have to wait much longer before getting to fight rival belt holder, Deontay Wilder in a unification bout.
Megasportsarena.com gathered that this is sequel to a declaration by Wilder that his next opponent will be fellow-American, Luiz Ortiz, not Joshua, who goes for his USA debut this Saturday against Mexico’s Andy Ruiz Jnr.
Rather than make himself available for the much-anticipated unification showpiece against Joshua, Wilder, who has held the WBC’s version of the world heavyweight belt since 2015, says the blockbuster will not happen any longer this year.
The heavy-handed Alabaman instead disclosed that he has already signed rematch with Ortiz in the fall, dashing all short-term hopes for the hotly anticipated four-belt clash will hold with Joshua, who holds the WBA, WBO and IBF titles.
Wilder’s date and venue against Ortiz are yet to be announced, but early rumblings indicate it will take place on 7th or 28th of September in either Los Angeles or Las Vegas, USA.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ (41-0-1, 40 KOs), who turns 34 in October, is coming off a recent sensational first-round knockout of his mandatory challenger, Dominic Breazeale, but wants to avoid ‘AJ’ much longer.
He has also put on hold a rematch with Tyson Fury, despite cravings of fight fans to see a better version of their controversial split decision draw in December and the showdown with Joshua – perhaps the best fight that can be made to satisfy the anticipating world.
Wilder and Ortiz first met last year in an entertaining scrap at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, which saw the champ overcome his toughest moments as a professional, before finishing matters with a 10th-round knockout.
