David Haye reveals ‘perfect’ next Anthony Joshua opponent to stop him from being ‘ill-prepared’ for Deontay Wilder fight
DAVID HAYE has warned Anthony Joshua against ‘ill-preparing’ for a superfight with Deontay Wilder.
AJ returned to winning ways on points against Jermaine Franklin in April. after consecutive defeats against Oleksandr Usyk.
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And now promoter Eddie Hearn is negotiating a blockbuster fight against Wilder for December in Saudi Arabia.
It leaves Joshua original plan to return in summer faces KO – but former champion Haye has advised AJ to reconsider.
speak in advance KSI’s DAZN PPV match with Joe FournierHe said: “I would love to see him fight Dillian Whyte.”
“I think that’s the perfect opponent, it’s an all British fight, they can do that at the O2 Arena.”
“Fight Dillian first. If you can’t defeat Dillian, you shouldn’t go in there with Wilder.”
“Winning his last fight against Franklin wasn’t sufficient preparation for fighting Wilder, believe me.”
“What he did in that fight versus what he needs to do to beat Wilder – he needs to get in the ring with someone who really lets their hands go, like Dillian.”
“And if he can handle that, then he’s given himself a better chance than he did against Wilder.”
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“Or fight nobody and face off against Wilder, ill-prepared and he needs to be prepared because it’s been a while since he’s been busy and literally let his hands go.”
Haye, 42, believes the last time Joshua set foot in the ring was in 2019 against Andy Ruiz Jr.
But he was stopped in seven rounds and changed his style to win the rematch six months later in the Diriyah desert.
Since then, Joshua has adopted the cautious boxing style in his two losses to 36-year-old Usyk and his return to 29-year-old Franklin.
And Haye told AJ to forget about meeting 37-year-old Wilder in the Middle East unless he’s struggling to shake off his fear of letting his fists fly.
He said: “You’ll probably have to go back to Andy Ruiz’s first fight when he actually let his hands go.”
“He hasn’t fired a shot since then, 24 rounds with Usyk he didn’t make it, 12 rounds with Ruiz the second time he didn’t make it, Franklin he didn’t make it, that’s a long time.”
“It’s been a few years since he’s let go of his hands, so he has to fight someone, let go of his hands and then that will give him real confidence when he’s up against Wilder.”
“Because just saying, ‘I can beat Wilder,’ doesn’t really mean anything.”
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