Wilder takes on veteran Chris Arreola at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama as rumours of a possible unification with Joshua in 2017 continue to gather pace. Whilst refusing to overlook Arreola’s challenge next weekend, Deas was impressed with what he saw last month when Joshua took out Dominic Breazeale in seven rounds at the O2 Arena in London.
“I thought Anthony Joshua looked great against Dominic Breazeale. He was patient and disciplined and he picked his shots well,” Deas exclusively told World Boxing News.
“Joshua broke Breazeale down and when the time was right, got him out of there. Breazeale is a tough customer with a skill set and physical stature, but Joshua was just too much for him.
He continued: “As for Wilder-Joshua, there is no Wilder-Joshua – there is only Chris Arreola. Only a fool looks past what is in front of him.
“From Jim Corbett-John L. Sullivan to Hasim Rahman-Lennox Lewis I – and all points in between, history is full of examples of super motivated challengers and less than focused champions spelling disaster for the title holder. We will not make that mistake.
“Right now, we are focused only on Arreola. Deontay is focused and ready but we will be happy to discuss the future after July 16 and the job is done,” added Deas.
Joshua, 26, is pencilled in for a November / December return to action, possibly against Joseph Parker, Bermane Stiverne or Bryant Jennings as part of his ongoing deal with Showtime in the US.
As Wilder and Joshua both feature on the same Stateside network, all roads a pointing to massive undefeated SHO PPV event in 2017, a fight that can make both men a handy sum in the millions of dollars provided they both champions keep up their winning ways.
