Deontay Wilder has suggested he is not ready to give up being a free agent as he prepares to officially announce his decision to face Dominic Breazeale on Showtime rather signing up with DAZN.
The Bronze Bomber held talks with the streaming service in New York last week and was offered $100million for three fights; the first his WBC mandated title defence against Breazeale followed by two fights against Anthony Joshua – worth $40m (£30m) each.
Although the talks were described as positive, Wilder is expected to stay with Showtime for the Breazeale fight and will reveal the full details of his decision at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn later on Tuesday.
Wilder was ringside in Dallas on Saturday night to watch Errol Spence Jr see off Mikey Garcia and was asked about the DAZN offer afterwards, suggesting he is worth even more than was offered.
The 33-year-old told Fight Hub TV: ‘So many people try to dictate my career and tell me, I should do this, I should do that, I shouldn’t do this, I shouldn’t do that.
‘$12.5m [offered by Eddie Hearn] is laughable now, $15m is laughable. All this stuff I was supposed to have done, I didn’t do none of that and now look at my career. I’m betting on myself and you can’t go wrong with yourself.
‘I love being a free agent, I love being able to move about doing what I do, and we’ll see what the future holds.’
Asked how it feels to have a $100m deal on the table, Wilder added to Behind The Gloves: ‘It makes me feel good. We’ve always had a plan for me and my team. We still do now.
‘If they think this is exciting just wait. This is nothing compared to what we’re going to do with this sport, especially in the heavyweight division. ‘I am the monster, I hold all the cards, I am the king in the division.All these guys have to come and see me.
The sooner they realise that, the better and smoother things will flow. I am the man in this division, and I just took hold of my career. ‘I’d rather bet on myself than leave it in the hands of anybody else.
I love being free, I love being able to be my own boss. I’m my own boss, these other guys ain’t there own boss. I’ve always been my own boss and I still am to this day!’
