Deontay Wilder says that a fight with Anthony Joshua will happen, with patience and time as the key.

WBC champion Deontay Wilder (40-0-1, 39KOs) wants to prove that he is the best heavyweight of this era. Only that so does former lineal champion Tyson Fury (27-0-1, 19KOs), and current unified champion Anthony Joshua (22-0, 21KOs).

Wilder and Fury met in a much anticipated showdown last December at the Staples Center, with Wilder’s title on the line. In a classic bout where Wilder knocked down Fury twice, and almost out in the twelfth round; the contest ended in a draw.

Despite the two knockdowns, Fury had showed good movement in the fight by out slipping most of Wilder’s assault; and putting together clean combinations. The talks of a rematch fell apart after Fury signed a co-promotional deal with Bob Arum’s Top Rank, and opted to face Tom Schwarz on June 15 instead.

As much as Wilder wanted the rematch, he believes that his power had an impact on Fury’s decision to go elsewhere.

“I gave Fury a concussion, and I made him lose memory,” said Wilder. “If he felt he beat me at a wide margin, it’s easy; why not rematch? But when you know you had a concussion and a loss of memory, he didn’t even know how he got on the ground; nor did he got up. And that’s bad for your health, so I understand.”

Last year in April, Wilder claimed he offered Joshua a guaranteed $80 million contract. But Joshua and his camp didn’t accept the offer, and his promoter Eddie Hearn stated that the offer was not genuine.

The door to a bout with Joshua opened again in March, when Wilder and co-manager Shelley Finkel held talks with DAZN president John Skipper; who has Joshua under contract with the streaming platform. Those talks fell apart when the terms of Joshua’s deal were not disclosed to Wilder and Finkel.

Despite the failed attempts, Wilder assures that a fight between the two undefeated champions will materialize.

“With Joshua, I tried to fight him five times,” said Wilder. “Now that he has no options, no where to go; all of a sudden it’s smoking mirrors. But the thing about it, all parties still talking and the fight will happen. I just ask the fans to have patience, and with come patience; come time.”