Deontay Wilder backed to beat Anthony Joshua by AJ’s former sparring partner, David Price, because he is ‘less emotionally damaged’

Anthony Joshua's former sparring partner, David Price the Brit's perfectionism could be his downfall in a fight with Deontay Wilder.

Joshua is about to embark on a pivotal year for his career as, for the first time since 2015, it looks like his next fight will not have any world title belts on the line.

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This comes after suffering back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk and having not recorded a victory since 2020.

But, there are still a number of huge fights out there for 'AJ' and he will be looking to take on big name opponents in 2023 to put himself back in contention at the top of the heavyweight division.

Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, has said a rematch with Dillian Whyte is the most likely choice for his next fight, but he has also been in contact with Wilder's manager as another potential option.

Price, however, who is a former Olympic bronze medallist and known for having dropped a young 'AJ' heavily in sparring, believes a clash with Wilder will only lead to another loss for the Brit.

When asked who he thinks would win that fight, : “I’d have to say Wilder.

"I just think he’s less emotionally damaged especially after his win over Robert Helenius, it was back to normal for him, back to business. Whereas Joshua is more of a thinker and puts more pressure on himself to perform.

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“He’s a perfectionist and it’s a terrible trait for a sportsman because you can say you’re a perfectionist and that’s good but when nothing less than perfect satisfies you, that’s when it becomes a problem that you’re never satisfied and you’re never happy with your performance.

“Wilder’s almost raw still, he doesn’t care how it looks, it’s about getting the job done and I think that will tell in the fight.

"He will let his hands go more and be less tentative and that will be what wins the fight.”

Instead, Price advised Joshua to take on Whyte, as he said: “I’d build back up, one more defeat could be a disaster for him.

"The Dillian Whyte fight makes sense… then he can look at fighting maybe [Tyson] Fury, Wilder, there are loads of good fights out there.”