Anthony Joshua would not be drawn on his future plans after regaining his world heavyweight titles from Andy Ruiz on Saturday.
The British star won back his WBA, IBF and WBO belts with a one-sided unanimous defeat of Ruiz in Diriyah outside Saudi Arabia’s capital.
The victory reinstates Joshua as a major player in boxing’s most glamorous division, and instantly renews speculation about a possible unification super fight with WBC champion Deontay Wilder.
But Joshua, 30, said while he remained open to a fight with the unbeaten Wilder, he would not “chase” the fight.
Joshua, who had seen negotiations with Wilder’s camp fall flat several times before his defeat to Ruiz in June said, “It’s difficult to unite them,”
“We’ll see what happens. Chasing that fight wasn’t playing to my benefit, so I’m going to let the path take it course. When the opportunity presents itself to become unified heavyweight champion I’ll take it.”
Ruiz meanwhile is eager for a third meeting with Joshua. Although Joshua indicated he would be happy to face the Mexican-American again, that fight is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
In the short term, Joshua faces mandatory title defenses against IBF challenger Kubrat Pulev and WBO contender Oleksandr Usyk.
Promoter Eddie Hearn also declined to elaborate on Joshua’s future plans. He said, “Tonight’s about celebrating victory. We’ll speak to the governing bodies and see who goes first.”
