Deontay Wilder claims he is ‘on another level’ to Anthony Joshua with sights set on 2017 match-up

Deontay Wilder, the WBC world heavyweight champion, has claimed that he is ‘on another level’ to rival Anthony Joshua.

The Alabama-born fighter successfully defended his title for a fifth time in February and is eagerly anticipating June’s match-up between Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko.

Wilder has his sights set on a future meeting with Joshua, provided that his British counterpart can safely see off Klitschko, and he considers himself superior to the IBF champion.

“I definitely feel like I'm on a whole ‘nother level than Joshua," he told Fight Hype. “I've been in this game for a while now. I'm very experienced. I think I've seen every style to see, you know, the major styles that I need to see.

“I definitely feel and know that I'm in another league of my own when you compare the two of us. But time will tell when we can get in the ring and see who's the best man.”

Wilder, nicknamed the ‘Bronze Bomber’, has also considered Klitschko and New Zealand’s Joseph Parker, the WBO champion, as future opponents, but sees a match-up with Joshua as the “ultimate fight”.

“You know, a lot of hype has been built up around Joshua being that he's in England,” he said.

“I think they got some wonderful fans there in England and they built the hype behind him very well. I think that's the fight that everyone wants to see, Joshua and Wilder.

“I'm looking forward to all of them, but I think Joshua would be the ultimate fight as far as excitement and hype for the fans that would want to see an ultimate unification bout. I think that would be the man.”