It's time for Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury to put up or shut up about fighting Anthony Joshua

Anthony Joshua did it on Saturday in Cardiff. He defeated Joseph Parker to become a four-belt world heavyweight champion.

The precise manner of his victory didn’t exactly have many singing his praises, which is a shame considering that it wasn’t too long ago that some were doubting AJ’s ability to go 12 rounds the way he did against Parker or win in a technical manner the way he did against the Kiwi. I guess those people will always find something to criticise.

Of course, the loudest rejections of Joshua’s latest victory come from those who would back Deontay Wilder, who holds the only major recognised version of the championship left for Joshua to target, and Tyson Fury, the man who sat atop the heavyweight pile until he imploded in a shower of self-pity, to ‘expose’ Anthony if they ever got the chance.

READ MORE: The chilling death threat hanging over Joshua

Fury himself went in two-footed on the two gentlemen who went to battle at the Principality Stadium on – you guessed it – social media.

“Just watching these two and I’m telling you they’re a pair of wooden tops,” Fury said in posts that have since been removed. “They’re not even good enough to be my sparring partners, the pair of them.

“They’re a pair of bums. No panache, no flair, no show. Waste of money. There’s only one Tyson Fury for a reason. This is my year 2018, they’re a pack of bums.”

It’s a shame to see such remarks come from Fury, albeit far from a surprise. Whether he truly feels this way or if he’s attempting to stir up interest in a domestic superfight with AJ (and his deletion of the messages suggests it’s the former), Tyson should be focusing solely on returning to peak condition so that he can attempt to prove this to be the case and make a career-best paycheck in the process, rather than flapping his gums.

But that’s exactly the sort of background noise Joshua has become accustomed to throughout his journey to the top. Doubts, second-guessing, write-offs, discredit and disclaimers. All the while, he has continued to win every fight. He has continued to add new dimensions to his game. And yes, he has continued to learn on the job.

The logic to diminishing Joshua’s accomplishments so far has been confusing, to be very polite. I’ve heard people claim the knockdown he suffered to Klitschko before he dusted himself off and finished the Ukrainian’s career proved he’d never be as good as heavyweights from “the good old days”, such as Lennox Lewis. We’ll just sidestep the fact that Klitschko is a considerably tougher threat, even at 40, than Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman, who not only put Lewis on the mat but did so decisively.

READ MORE: Hearn expects Joshua-Wilder talks to start next week

When someone makes their mind up about something, that can often be it. Nothing will convince them otherwise. Maybe they’re worried admitting they were wrong is a sign of weakness. It’s hard to see that vocal minority changing their tune even if Joshua beats Wilder to unify the division and sees off the challenge of Fury, the champ who never lost his belts in the ring.

But that’s the thing, those fights need to be made first. And while Wilder and Fury have made noise about what they’d do to Joshua, only one of the three is actually taking on other champions. AJ also elected against reacting to these criticisms by going on a massive bender, unlike the other Brit who held those three belts in recent times.

Do I think Joshua would beat Wilder and/or Fury? I’m really not sure. But that excites me. That makes me want the fights to happen. And based on his recent CV I feel 100% assured that Anthony wants the fights. I’ve yet to see tangible evidence that Deontay or Tyson will quit rallying the fans with confident monologues and sign on the bottom line.

The heavyweight division is picking up steam nicely despite the less-than-dynamic nature of Joshua’s win over Parker. When Fury dethroned Klitschko, the same could be said then. It was a tough fight for the casual audience to get into that nonetheless continued to move the former box office juggernaut of the weight class system in the right direction.

Now it’s time for these three men – Joshua, Wilder and Fury – to complete the route to having one undisputed heavyweight champion. AJ’s already on that path. Now it’s time to see evidence that the other two are doing something other than talking a great game.