I'm sorry guys they played us all - Wilder confirms Joshua fight is off

WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder has confirmed his fight against Anthony Joshua is not happening in an expletive-laden Twitter post.

Wilder (40-0) and WBA, IBF, IBO and WBO heavyweight title holder Joshua (21-0) were seemingly nearing a deal for what would have been the biggest fight of the year.

However, the American used social media on Wednesday to dismiss hopes of the bout going ahead, amid reports Joshua had been ordered to accept a fight against Alexander Povetkin.

"My team and I bent over backwards … accepting everything they threw at us just to find out this boy is terrified of me, p****," Wilder wrote, in part, on Twitter.

He added: "I said all that past s*** to tell the story and to apologise. I'm sorry guys they played us all. F*** 'em.

"We move forward, the future is still bright."

Wilder, 32, was said to be ready to fight Joshua in United Kingdom, where the Brit has won each of his 21 bouts.