Anthony Joshua hoping to unite all five heavyweight belts with mega fight against Wilder next year

NIGERIAN-born world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Olufemi Joshua has admitted he is looking past his next opponent Alexander Povetkin and eyeing a blockbuster unification fight against World Boxing Council (WBC) champion Deontay Wilder.

After beating New Zealander Joseph Parker in Cardiff in April, Joshua became the holder of the World Boxing Organisation (WBO), World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation (IBF) and International Boxing Organisation (IBO) belts. On September 22, Joshua will fight Russia Alexander Povetkin but already, negotiations are on for a major unification bout with Wilder.

Joshua wants American boxer Wilder to accept a $15m offer to face him to determine who is the undisputed world heavyweight champion in front of a 100,000 crowd at Wembley Stadium on April 13, 2019. If it goes ahead, the fight could generate up to $100m and would be the first time all four major world heavyweight titles will be on the line.

“Me and Wilder is the best fight in the division right now, not me and Povetkin. The deal to fight Wilder is still on the table, if it was written off I’d be very annoyed.

“We were working on the fight before I beat Carlos Takam, then it was Joseph Parker and it still hasn’t happened and now it’s Povetkin. However, I want the big one, I am looking past Povetkin now as I want the big guns," Joshua added.

"Furthermore Joshua said: "I am going to walk through Povetkin and for Wilder the date and location are here. For the past seven months, I have found out what he wants in a contract, what he doesn’t want in a contract.

“He’s had 40 training camps and even if you knock each opponent in a round you have still gone through hundreds of rounds in your camps, miles and miles on the clock with all the running and with the body wear and tear. He’s been a professional since 2009 and that makes it a 10-year professional career, that is a long time, he’s been hurt by a lot of fighters on the way, all the sparring."

He added: “So what does that make? Two maybe three years left? Ultimately put finances aside but if you believe you are better than me and you have the chance to prove it here in the UK.

 "It’s not just a UK thing it’s about global. Why would you not fight me if you believe you can beat me in this type of an event?”