WBA, IBF, WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua says everyone wants Deontay Wilder to beat Tyson Fury to set up a Joshua-Wilder showdown. “We had a meeting about that,” Joshua told Sky Sports. “It has great potential. I heard [Wilder and Fury] have a third fight lined up towards the end of the year but we have to throw a curveball in there. Something that gets Wilder’s attention providing he wins so that he thinks to himself: ‘Even though I have a rematch clause, I’ll see how I can manipulate my contract, get out of it, and fight for the undisputed championship’.”
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AJ needs to be focussing on his own path and I hope he isn’t sidetracking the tasks in hand.
What I don’t understand is why he is aiming for/talking about Wilder as though Fury is just a routine defence he has to get through. Wilder/Fury IMO is 50/50 and a fight which I keep changing my mind about.
i think AJ was probably just answering one particular question and in isolation it looks like he is writing off Fury. I had that fight 50/50 over last year but i think I edge towards Wilder now. The shake up in Fury’s camp isn’t good and i just get the feeling he isn’t as focused at he was before December 2018.
Not sure I like the Davison split either. Having said that Fury has had a number of changes over the years. Peter Fury masterminded the game plan to beat Wlad so Davison wasn’t on board for that one.
It maybe (like Saunders) he feels that he gets stale under one trainer for too long?
More clout chasing from AJ. Nobody believes he really wants the Wilder fight. AJ is shell shocked and will never be the same.
The PBC roster gets mentioned at every corner in Boxing. They have, by far, the hottest roster and biggest fights to be made. Fighters from other networks always call out PBC fighters. Just today, you have Kingry pretending he wants GD and now this.
‘nobody believes”. I do. Do i think Wilder is favorite? Yes. Do i think AJ could now be permanently damaged? Yes. But for whatever reason Wilder has considered the fight wrong over the last couple of years. He turned down a huge contract and fought for a lot less. Him and his team openly said they wanted the fight to build about 12 months ago. Those aren’t the actions of someone desperate for the fight. I am sure both fighters are very wary of fighting each other, but the idea that Wilder was ever ‘chasing’ AJ is total fantasy.
Not true! Just the spin Hearn put on the AJ ducking machine. They ducked wilder so hard and now they try and use deflection to make it look like it was wilder all along. Sick. They turned down 50 million dollars after AJ said that if he was guaranteed 50 mill he would sign claiming that they weren’t sure Shelly Finkle and Al freaking Haymon truly had the money! They then offered wilder a contract with no date or venue on it knowing he would push back then got the sanctioning bode to declare another mandatory for AJ in the middle of negotiations. They aren’t fooling real boxing fans
it wouldn’t be a valid argument without a “real boxing fans” line slapped on the end
AJ is not damaged and he is more than capable to ice Wilder’s right hand. Wilder is a one-handed fighter and the easiest ones to box to death.
Exactly.. Humpty Joshua will never be put back together the same.. and he wasn’t all that to begin with.. he doesn’t want Smoke from Wilder.. he doesn’t even look or sound convincing.
These 3 fighters, AJ, TF, DW
They all are good enough to win over the other two. The punch power and chin DW has give him a certain edge. A great ring generalship is of importance to avoid DW’s punch power which TF compromises with too much of showboating. DW needs to KO him to win or else it could be another draw or TF by decision
The jury is still out on Wilder’s chin. I have never seen him hit as hard as AJ was by Klitschko. In round 12 Fury caught him with an OK left hook which caused Wilder to back off when he had Fury hurt. Ortiz hurt him in the first fight but I didn’t see one monster shot land. he got hurt quite badly early on by Molina (I think) but no monster shot landed. I think all three have average chins and fury is lacking on the power , but leading on the movement. Great trio
You are right on all 3 counts, Molina, Ortiz and Fury. Also right about not getting hit as hard as AJ was by K.
But against both, AJ and TF, DW needs one lucky punch to put them out. Who knows that TF will beat the count again if he gets caught.
I agree with JabNow. TF compromises his ring generalship and movement with showboating.
CB, I agree, Fury lacks in power even though he is a large man. His flat-footed body mechanics right along with his arm punching pretty much indicates that. However, as a boxer, who needs monster power when one can win points!
He’s been working on his power and you will see it in his next fight.
How can they all three have the same chin but fury and AJ be better defensively, have less fights and both been on their backsides 3 times but deontay hasn’t once as a pro?
it is impossible to know exactly how their chins compare. I am just saying I can’t think of a single punch Wilder has taken that made me think ‘wow solid chin’. I also think he would have gone down to that 6th Klitschko shot on AJ. Obviously that is just an opinion. Maybe this does mean Wilder’s defense is better than we realize. I certainly think he stays out of range pretty well for an offensive fighter. Definitely in recent fights
This means Nothing
What in particular means nothing?
JabNow
What Joshua is saying, means nothing
The two key words are “still aiming” in the title. These two words indicate that Joshua is lingering, hoping, and delaying everything so all the current “big boys” in the heavyweight division will destroy each other. Joshua can then cherry-pick the already bashed up, older, and used-up heavyweight left standing and he can cruise to less than stellar victory like he did against Ruiz in the rematch. Folks, Joshua has already demonstrated he is vulnerable to a weak chin and proved he is beatable. I have no doubt in making that assessment. I am not impressed. I really do get sick and tired of the running, hiding, promotors whining over money, and legal jargon that keeps fans from seeing great matchups.
What about Lennox Lewis who was for years viewed as a “weak chin/paper champion”? He had to destroy Iron Mike Tyson to prove that he was the Real Champion… Joshua has all the power & the skills to dominate as the true Heavyweight Champion. AJ is more powerful than Fury & has better boxing skills than Wilder.
Nobody should ever bring up Lewis vs Tyson! Tyson was 12-14 years out of his prime. The Tyson that brutalized Olympic Gold Medalist Tyrell Biggs n destroyed the division does not lose to Lewis. Lewis chin too weak to absorb Tyson’s shots. Styles make fights n I don’t think Wilder or Joshua could deal with a prime(Kevin Rooney)trained Tyson. He never lost a professional fight with Rooney in his corner. That’s when he was really focused. Just sayin!
Lewis was not considered having a weak chin, he just got caught cold.
AJ is more powerful than Fury, just like Klitschko was more powerful than Fury.
AJ, no everyone, has better skills than Wilder, then they get caught with the right hand.
Boxing is just like this hey, so unpredictable. That’s what makes it great.
Both Fury & Joshua will lose to Wilder. Wilder will likely retire after beating these 2 clowns, and likely 1 or 2 others.
Fury vs Joshua, after they both get KTFO by Wilder should be a good fight.
TF beat Wilder the first time. You think he’s goona lose aginst Wilder in the rematch? They have a 3rd fight lined up for the end of the year.
Arturo, apparently you don’t know how to read. It was a draw. Do you know what a draw is? Do you know what a knockdown is? Mr. Fury got dropped twice. Not once. Twice. And hard. Wilder figured this fool out. Fury is going to get KTFO.
Jonathon, you are right, it was a draw regardless of who said who won or lost. All of us keyboard warriors think we know-it-all and are boxing experts, but it’s simply cheap testosterone talk hidden behind a computer/cell phone screen. Notice I said “all of us”. This same application can be compared to the GGG vs Canelo in the first fight. On paper, it was a draw. However, the argument in the politics of boxing reign supreme.
Keep dreaming Jonathan, Wilder the bum squad is going to get smashed and retired by Fury.
If AJ fights the way he did in his last fight against Andy Ruiz, he may out class Wilder. But first things first. Tyson beats Wilder in february…
I actually got sleepy watching AJ fight Ruiz in the rematch. That fight did nothing for me except a 12 rounds worth of quick nap (snicker).
If AJ fights that way against wilder he will go night night. Wilders reach and athleticism will not allow the shorter AJ to play keep away like he did with Ruiz
The shine is off AJ. He had to run to beat a grossly out of shape Andy Ruiz and now he talks like anybody thinks of him as a Champion. The winner of the Wilder vs Fury rematch will be Undisputed in most fans eyes.
If AJ comes humble after the joke offers they first made Wilder then maybe he can fight for the real title.
And yes, I favor Wilder to finish Fury by round 8 or 9.
Does AJ want Wilder? Does Wilder want AJ?
No one knows for sure. But , I believe team Wilder made AJ one offer for $50m to fight AJ. Hearn said he asked for a contract and nothing was forthcoming.
He then offered Wilder $100m for a 2 fight deal and I believe he had the option of a voluntary defence against an opponent of his choice for $20m. Wilder declined.
The key factor for me (in who I believe) is that I’ve seen nothing from Team Wilder which dispute what Hearn has said. If Hearn was lying I reckon Team Wilder would sue his ass.
You left out that Hearn turned down Haymon and finkle’s offer and even erroneously asserted that he wasn’t sure that they had the money! They then lowballed wilder and wilder agreed to it to get the fight but was sent a “contract “ with no date on it and no venue! Then they got one of and sanctioning bodies to declare a mandatory to keep from having to fix the contract and have the fight. Hearn and AJ are cowards and knew he would get laid out
I can see why Joshua is so set on fighting Wilder and not Fury. Cause he has very little chance of beating a prime Fury. Fury is too smart of a boxer for Joshua. I also believe Wilder would beat Joshua, but with him he at least has a chance, if he doesn’t get KO’ed..
I would love to see Joshua against either Wilder or Fury… call me crazy but I think Joshua is the most complete fighter out of the three. Wilder can punch, but not box too well. Fury can box, but has no knockout power. Joshua can do both…maybe he’s not a bigger puncher than wilder, but he can box better. Maybe he can’t box like fury but he punches better. He’s the most complete out of the three IMO
Sure he does, AJ couldn’t take Wilders’ mum.
“Even though I have a rematch clause…?” Joshua’s people (and Ruiz’s) actually had yet another rematch clause? Wow. Talk about your bad ideas.
Shall we assume that Ruiz is all done OR is he planning on a trilogy with Joshua, Anyone know if there was a rematch clause in their last fight ?
John, I’ve heard no mention of a rematch clause for Ruiz. If there was one, then I think we would be hearing Ruiz talking about next time and certainly wouldn’t be bracing for the world changing AJ vs Pulev match. (I’m so pumped for that one! I can hardly wait to not watch it.)
They could make hundreds of dollars on these fights.
AJ beats Wilder hands down. Wilder has struggled with 3rd rated opposition like Molina, Szchpilka as well as old man Ortiz.
AJ should fight Wilder over Fury, it’s a much safer fight that’s if of course Wilder has recovered after being flattened by Fury.
That sounds like a guy thinking past a guy like Fury. Not smart