Deontay Wilder Reacted To Anthony Joshua's Upset Loss, And He Wasn't Kind - Forbes

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 18: Deontay Wilder celebrates after knocking out Dominic Breazeale in the first round during their bout for Wilder's WBC heavyweight title at Barclays Center on May 18, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)

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Talk about kicking a man while he's down. Deontay Wilder showed Anthony Joshua no mercy.

On Saturday night in New York, in Joshua's American debut, the Brit stunningly lost his WBA, IBF, and WBO Heavyweight Championships when he was stopped by massive underdog Andy Ruiz in the seventh round. Joshua scored his own knockdown but was dropped four times before the referee called a halt to the fight as Joshua looked exhausted and whipped mentally.

Wilder, the WBC Heavyweight champion, has been feuding with Joshua for nearly two years. The two could never come to an agreement on a what would have been a humongous fight. Less than an hour after Joshua's defeat, Wilder took to Twitter to pour salt in the fresh wound.

He wasn’t a true champion. His whole career was consisted of lies, contradictions and gifts.
Facts and now we know who was running from who!!!!#TilThisDay

— Deontay Wilder (@BronzeBomber) June 2, 2019

There has to be a bit of frustration on Wilder's side. While he was in the process of turning the negotiation tables on Joshua, he'd still planned to face him sometime in 2020, and he had to be looking forward to the massive payday that would have come with it. Instead, there is now a good bit of uncertainty ahead on that front.

Joshua has an immediate rematch clause with Ruiz, and he said he planned to exercise it. The two men will likely meet later this year in the UK. Joshua may have taken Ruiz lightly. The 29-year-old Mexican was a late replacement for the disgraced Jarrell Miller who tested positive for three banned substances, and perhaps Joshua wasn't up for the fight.

Even still, he has a lot to work on. He has some glaring holes on defense, and there is probably nothing he can do about what appears to be a relatively weak chin. It will be interesting to see how he performs in the rematch.

Meanwhile, Wilder has already committed to facing Luis Ortiz in a rematch in September. If he wins that fight and Tyson Fury beats Tom Schwarz later this month, Wilder will meet him in yet another rematch in early 2020. It's still possible we could see Wilder and Joshua face each other in a title unification bout in 2020, but both men have to overcome some tough tests to get there.

Joshua has a path to victory in a rematch with Ruiz, but one thing is for sure, he won't be taking the new champion lightly again.

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June 02, 2019 at 11:22AM