Steve Bunce, who released Bunce's Big Fat Short History of British Boxing earlier this year, blasted the WBC heavyweight champion just days after insisting he would walk away from negotiations with Team Joshua unless a 50/50 split could be agreed.
“Deontay Wilder is a big sexy name because he screams and shouts and swears – and he’s got Lou DiBella over his shoulder, the ultimate huckster, the man who inherited everything from Don King,” Bunce explained.
“There’s Deontay Wilder – he’s the one we know about. He basically can’t draw flies in America and I mean that in the nicest possible way.
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“He somehow thinks that he’s a bigger attraction than David Haye.
“He [Wilder] basically can’t draw flies in America and I mean that in the nicest possible way”
Steve Bunce
“What’s happened in this Twitter boxing age is if you say something often enough and retweet it often enough, you actually believe it’s true.
“Just because Deontay Wilder and his man Lou DiBella say we’re the best heavyweight in the world, it’s not a Jedi mind trick.
“Just because you say something and look people in the eyes, ‘I’m the best heavyweight in the world’ – it doesn’t work that way.
“It works on how many people would pay to see you, how many people want to see you and, more importantly, if you’re on pay-per-view. And he’s not, yet.”
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Less than a million people tuned in on US TV to watch Wilder’s most recent title defence – a first-round knockout of 39-year-old Bermane Stiverne – while Anthony Joshua’s most recent fight against Carlos Takam is thought to have pulled similar numbers on UK pay-per-view alone.
“[Anthony] Joshua is the biggest attraction now in world boxing. Not in British heavyweight boxing. In world boxing, Anthony Joshua is the number one attraction,” Bunce, 55, continued.
“If Anthony Joshua fights next week at seven days notice in Madison Square Garden, it sells out like that. At the MGM in Vegas, it sells out like that. In Dubai, in a purpose-built arena, it sells out like that.
“If Deontay Wilder fights in six weeks time against anyone other than Anthony Joshua, you struggle to sell 4,000 tickets.
“It’s like the manager of a second division team saying ‘well, we’re bigger than Liverpool and Man City’. How are you? You’ve got 800 through the turnstiles.
“‘Yeah, but we’re bigger’. Just because you say it doesn’t mean it’s true.
“He’s fought better men? No he hasn’t. He’s a better fighter? No he isn’t. He’s technically more gifted? No he isn’t.”
Bunce's Big Fat Short History of British Boxing is out now. For more information click here.