Deontay Wilder Questions Integrity of Paul–Joshua Fight

Key Takeaways

• Deontay Wilder calls Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua “a fun opportunity and a money grab,” saying influencer boxing reflects “the times and the generation that we’re living in.”
• Wilder suggests some these bouts may involve behind-the-scenes understandings, saying:
  “Sometimes you just think certain things are set up… don’t hit me too hard, don’t knock me out… here’s extra money for this and that.”
  He adds:
  “You just never know how these things go… boxing as a whole is already crazy.”
• He warns Joshua’s legacy could take real damage if the fight goes wrong:
  “If he gets knocked out in a dramatic way… it will hurt his legacy. People only remember the last thing you’ve done.”
• Wilder would still fight A.J, regardless of the outcome of his fight with Jake Paul
• Wilder says fighters who spent years climbing the ranks are angry watching influencers collect massive paydays:
  “I feel sorry for the fighters who know how hard it is… and here’s a guy that never came up in the ranks making millions.”
• Despite the circus around Paul vs. Joshua, Wilder insists a Wilder–Joshua showdown still makes perfect sense, because:
  “These (raises fists)… are universal. People wanna see a good scrap.”

The world of boxing has never been more chaotic — or more lucrative — for the right personalities. And no one understands the balance between spectacle and authenticity better than the legendary Deontay Wilder

The “Bronze Bomber” sat down with The Action Network to break down Jake Paul vs. Anthony Joshua, the frustrations within the sport, and whether the matchup impacts a potential Wilder–Joshua showdown.

(This Q&A has been edited solely for clarity. No quotes have been shortened or removed.)

Wilder on Paul vs. Joshua

What’s your take on the Joshua/Paul fight? What was your first reaction when you saw the news?

Wilder: I’m a real cool, laid back dude, you know what I mean? I don’t really have too much reaction to what the world has to offer. If people want to see things and they’re willing to pay the money to see it, then hey, why not?

It is what it is. These are the times and the generation that we’re living in.

I’ve had a lot of questions about these fights with different people and different matches.

My outlook on it is always the same.

Of course, you got these guys coming in and they do a hell of a job of marketing themselves, bringing fights because there’s one thing about it in the world that’s universal. These (raises fists), these. This is universal and people are gonna watch this getting thrown down no matter what.

It draws attraction, it draws attention. If you can build a system where you can fight anybody and hype it up to make it where people buy it, then there you go. You got what you’re looking at.

To the overall masses of people that are looking at it, of course it’s entertaining to them.

They’re gonna look for a fight, they wanna see knockouts, they wanna see all that. But for an average fighter, that knows the ropes and knows how hard it is to get to certain levels and stages.

They’re all mad. They’re mad, they’re mad. And I understand. I totally understand because I’m one of those creations that started from the absolute bottom. I knew nothing about boxing. Only news about Muhammad Ali in the Olympics.

Where I come from, it’s all about football, basketball and mostly American football.

I only got into boxing because my daughter had spina bifida. My dream was to be a professional athlete, football for sure, but I needed money to take care of here, In boxing, you only have to go to the school of hard knocks for that.

I already graduated from that school, so I was ready to go to make some money. It came along.

I don’t know man, sometimes you just think certain things are set up or you know, they may have an agreement.

Don’t hit me too hard, don’t knock me out or, here’s extra money for this and that. You just never know how these things go, man. Boxing as a whole is already just… it is crazy.

On Whether the Fight Hurts Joshua’s Legacy

Do you think this hurts Anthony Joshua’s legacy?

Wilder: As far as hurting AJ’s legacy, it’s all about how they advertise and promote this thing.

If they go in and promote it like it’s fun and it’s an exhibition of what it is, then it is what it is. If he goes in and promotes, like this is the opportunity of a lifetime to get to a title fight or something like that.

This is not a qualification for that. And then he ends up losing, getting knocked out or something. It is gonna hurt his legacy. If he goes in there and gets knocked out in a dramatic way or something like that, it will hurt his legacy.

That’s something that people are always gonna go back and look at the highlight reel.

So I see it where it could hurt his legacy because at the end of the day, people only remember the last thing you’ve done.

And that’s it. That’s it. We live in a world of what have you done for me lately? But he can recover from that though, but go on and do great things after that.

It is all about him and what he does from there. I just look at these opportunities, just fun, fun opportunities for the masses of the fans and a money grab. That’s all I look at it as something to have fun and get some money. That’s it, you know?

Wilder on Influencer Boxing and Fighter Frustration

I just feel sorry for the other fighters that are looking in and that’s involved in boxing. And know how hard it is to get to a certain level and ain’t never seen that certain type of money. And here you got a guy that doesn’t know what it is to come up in the ranks or how hard it is.

And here he is making millions of dollars. That ain’t how it’s supposed to go. When you see a certain program that’s designed to be a certain way and  it goes outside of the box of things, people get mad. It’s just like me, my fighting style. I came in, I’m different.

My style is different from the average boxing, boxing, boxing 101 fundamentals. I’m different. People get, ‘oh, you can’t do this. You don’t know how to do that’.

Does the Paul Fight Impact a Potential Joshua–Wilder Matchup?

There’s been a lot of talk about a possible fight between you and Anthony Joshua—does his upcoming match with Jake Paul (regardless of the result) change your outlook on facing Joshua at all?

Wilder: I don’t think so. I wouldn’t think so at all.

Even when you said it, and you know, for me responding… because I go off of how I feel, my energy of things. That’s why I speak ’cause of what I feel. Even when you said that, I don’t feel like people would use that and stop the fight from happening, or have some type of excuse.

I think they’ll wanna see anyway, like I said before.

This right here (raises fists) is universal. That speaks its own language. Unfortunately, styles make fights and people wanna see people fight no matter what the record is or who they are. I just wanna see a good scrap.

As of writing, Anthony Joshua is the overwhelming favorite to defeat Jake Paul.

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