Ahead of his four-strap battle with Joseph Parker, Joshua has told Wilder to stop making noise and begin crunching some numbers or the Briton will ultimately keep the quartet of titles out of his reach for the foreseeable future.
Wilder has been vocal in stating his intention to face Joshua should he come through Parker on March 31, although ‘AJ’ has so far been unimpressed by the American’s advances.
“If he was serious about the fight, we’d do serious negotiation. If not, stop hooting and hollering because we’ll just freeze him out,” Joshua told the gathered media at his workout in Sheffield.
“We’re in a position where I’ve still got great top-10 challengers I can compete with. He’s in a position where the broadcasters ain’t interested in (Wilder facing) Joe Bloggs anymore.
“I know where I am going with my career. If he wants to be a part of this and jump on the train and come to the UK, he has to be realistic and stop living the fantasy. That is all we are saying, be realistic in negotiations.
“What we’ve got to offer is going to be 10 times more in terms of financials – because that’s what it comes down to – (rather) than him looking at in America.
“If he offered me 10 times more money to fight than what I am looking at in the UK, I would go there to fight him.
“But he is coming here. We are doing the offering, he hasn’t offered us. Take it or leave it,” he added.
As things stand, Joshua becoming further unified leaves him in a very strong position and potentially mean Wilder would have no choice but to adhere to his rival’s wishes for the fight.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ is willing to accept any deal though, as previously stated, provided he gets the same identical terms for the rematch.
Joshua will also have mandatory obligations that he can fall back on, with the likes of Kubrat Pulev (IBF), Dominic Breazeale or Dillian Whyte (WBC) and Alexander Povetkin (WBO & WBA) all in line for their shot.
Povetkin appearing on the undercard in Cardiff would suggest the Russian will have first crack at Joshua, although Whyte beating Browne this weekend could push him to the front of the queue for a rematch.
The IBF will surely make a ruling on Pulev in the coming weeks too, and are notorious for wanting their number one contender situation cleared up pronto – as Tyson Fury find out to his cost.
Whoever gets the nod, Wilder could find himself on the outside looking in as Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn have an abundance of options at their disposal to keep the undisputed championship bout on simmer for the time being.
Phil Jay is Editor of World Boxing News. Follow on Twitter @PhilDJay
