Tyson Fury has revealed who is most dangerous opponent is, and it’s not his big British rival Anthony Joshua.
Instead ‘The Gypsy King’ says Deontay Wilder is the biggest threat out there in boxing’s marquee weight division, despite having destroyed ‘The Bronze Bomber’ in their rematch in Las Vegas in February.
Fury (30-0-1) was on the floor twice during their first meeting, in Los Angeles in December 2018, on the second occasion rising miraculously in the 12th and final round.
That bout ended in a controversial draw with most experts believing Fury had won comfortably despite the two knockdowns, but in the second meeting he made no mistake.
Instead of again boxing from the outside and looking to avoid Wilder’s big shots, he instead came out aggressively and blew away the hitherto unbeaten WBC king (42-1-1), stopping him after seven one-sided rounds.
Now the pair are contracted to meet for a third time, hopefully in Las Vegas on Saturday December 19, and Fury says despite talk of a massive showdown with Joshua next summer it is Wilder who is still the most dangerous man in the division.
He told Max Kellerman’s Max On Boxing on ESPN: “I’ve got as long in this game as I want to because there’s nothing out there to touch me. We’ve already seen the most dangerous heavyweight out there, Deontay Wilder, get taken to school once and then brutally knocked out in the second fight.
“I always said if I can get past Deontay Wilder, then it would be a long time before there’s anybody who could come close. Wilder’s always been the most dangerous opponent in the division for me other than Wladimir Klitschko himself. The rest of those guys, I’m not too concerned about.
“As for the top fights I’ve had, I’ve fought Klitschko and Wilder and both of them had more than 10 defences which makes me only the second heavyweight in history, me and Muhammad Ali, to beat two world champions with more than 10 defences on their record. Here’s one for the boot Max, I’m only the third guy in history to win two Ring magazine heavyweight championships – me, Muhammad Ali and Floyd Patterson.”
Fury is not concerned about his legacy right now, and whether it includes the word “greatness”. He is just focused on fighting the best heavyweights out there, and defeating them.
“How far does it take to be a great? Who knows, everybody has different opinions on who’s a great and who’s not. I’m not really too concerned,” he added.
“No matter who you beat and what you beat, there’s always gonna be somebody else coming up. Look how many title defences Wladimir Klitschko had, but there’s always somebody coming behind you.
“The only thing I’m concentrating on now is fighting Deontay Wilder for a third time and being victorious in that because I never look past any opponent and especially not one as dangerous as Deontay Wilder. He needs the utmost respect because he is a great champion and he’s one of the most feared punchers in boxing.
“So the answer to the question is, I must fight Wilder again, I must fight Joshua, I must fight them all. As long as I wanna continue and as long as I’m healthy and still alive, I’ll keep boxing and clean up. All these young guns coming up, I’m only 32 recently so if they get up in the next five years or so then I’ll still be 37, yeah then I’ll take them all on to be fair.”