Deontay Wilder has told British-Nigerian boxer Anthony Joshua “to stay strong” and said his heavyweight rival is in his “prayers” following the death of two of Joshua’s friends in December, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
Joshua suffered minor injuries in a road traffic accident in Nigeria on December 29 that killed Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele. The three were passengers in a vehicle that collided with a stationary truck on a road near Lagos.
“In this boxing business we all are family,” Wilder told BBC Sport.
“So from another brother to another brother – stay encouraged, Anthony Joshua. Keep your head up, Anthony Joshua. Stay prayed up, bro, because you’ve still got life.”
Wilder, who fights Briton Derek Chisora on April 4 in London, said the crash brought up “old feelings” from the death of his cousin, who was killed in a car accident.
“It’s tough to find the words to tell a person, but know that you are in our prayers,” Wilder said.
“My words may not mean anything in this moment in time. Maybe later on. I don’t know where he is mentally, emotionally, physically or spiritually, but I know that I will advise him to stay strong.”
Despite being long-time rivals, former heavyweight world champions Joshua and Wilder never shared the ring. A proposed undisputed title fight collapsed in 2018 when Wilder held the WBC belt and Joshua was the WBA, WBO and IBF champion.
However, Wilder told Sun Sport that he still believes a long-awaited showdown with Joshua will finally happen.
“I don’t have no regrets at all. Of course, it is a situation where you want to give the fight fans, or just the fans in general, what they want to see, but it takes two to tango and it is what it is,” Wilder said.
“I do know one thing, he is still in the business. I heard that he had retired, I don’t know how long that would be but if he comes back and he is still in the business and I am still in the business, we can still fight.
“The heavyweight division is very small, we can all fight each other three, four, five times because of how small our division is. If he is still in it and I am still in it, then of course, why not? We have to cross paths at some point in time.”
At a news conference on Wednesday, Wilder discussed mental health struggles caused by issues in his personal life and said the “fire” is still in him as both he and Chisora prepare for their 50th professional fight.
“After two therapists and sports psychologists, here I am reinventing myself, reuniting myself. I know I’m back,” Wilder said.
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