Bermane Stiverne accuses Deontay Wilder of avoiding a rematch
Friday 15 July 2016 06:43, UK
Bermane Stiverne has criticised Deontay Wilder’s decision not to offer him a rematch.
Wilder won the WBC heavyweight title with a unanimous decision against Stiverne in January 2015 and will put the belt on the line against Chris Arreola on Saturday, live on Sky Sports 3 from 9pm.
Stiverne, the first man to take Wilder the distance, had previously earned the title after twice beating Arreola so believes he should have been picked as the next challenger.
He knows he dodged a bullet when he fought me and now he's got the title, he'll just run with it.
"We all know Deontay doesn't want it, he isn't interested," Stiverne told Sky Sports.
"He knows he dodged a bullet when he fought me and now he's got the title, he'll just run with it.
"It's disappointing to see a champion like Wilder taking these opponents. I'll make my decision about what's going to happen once Arreola weighs in. It all depends on the number on his scales."
Haiti-born Stiverne cited severe dehydration, which later hospitalised him, for the performance against Wilder which led to him losing his world title.
Now fully recovered, the 37-year-old told Sky Sports he has started preparation to possibly fight Anthony Joshua before the end of the year because he rates the IBF champion above Wilder.
"The Wilder fight - I didn't lose because his skills were better than me," Stiverne said. "I lost the fight because of my health, that's the only reason. It was like having a gun loaded but you can't pull the trigger.
"Deontay is not going to fight any real fighters that will be a threat to him. This is the different between Wilder and Joshua - I think Joshua would take the risk, Deontay would not. That's two different men we're talking about."
Watch Deontay Wilder's latest defence of the WBC heavyweight championship against Chris Arreola on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports 3 from 9pm.
