'Heart of a lion': Floyd Mayweather warns Deontay Wilder not to overlook Anthony Joshua

Floyd Mayweather has warned Deontay Wilder not to overlook Anthony Joshua and believes a title unification bout will happen in the United Kingdom.

Joshua is expected to defend his WBA and IBF heavyweight titles against WBC title-holder Wilder in a title unification fight sometime in 2018, having most recently defended against Carlos Takam on 28 October in a controversial fashion.

The promoters of the two unbeaten heavyweights even met in New York and were said to have had positive talks, according to Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn.

However, there has been no update since, with a meeting with WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker looking more likely at this stage for Joshua. Meanwhile, America's Wilder looks set to defend his WBC title against Luis Ortiz.

With much debate on whether the contest should take place in America or the United Kingdom, Mayweather believes the fight will eventually happen in the latter.

"I think it can happen in the UK," Mayweather told FightHype. "I think it's bigger money in the UK. That's just how I feel. I think everybody is overlooking Anthony Joshua.

"I just feel like Anthony Joshua is the A-Side. He has a whole country behind him."

Wilder has long believed Joshua is scared to fight him and has spoken about knocking out the Briton early on. But Mayweather, who was impressed with the "Bronze Bomber's" performance against Bermane Stiverne, says "AJ" is a much different prospect.

"We look at Deontay Wilder's last fight," Mayweather added. "He did what the f**k he's supposed to do in great fashion but when you look at the guy he fought, the guy was like 6 feet and 40 years old?

"You gotta realize Anthony Joshua showed the heart of a lion. (He) Got hit by one of the Klitschko brothers – got right back up and showed the heart of a lion."