By Marcus Richardson: Tyson Fury doesn’t want Anthony Joshua to mix it up with WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder in a unification fight, as he sees the fight as too dangerous for him to take. Fury says Joshua would be risking messing up their big money fight by facing Wilder.
Fury doesn’t think Joshua should take that fight with the unbeaten Wilder (39-0, 38 KOs). Fury feels it’s better for Joshua to wait for the two of them to fight each other instead of taking on Wilder.
“The big fight is between me and him, so he can’t fight Wilder, because Wilder’s a dangerous fight, a dangerous fight for a lot less money,” said Fury to IFL TV. “This is about money, so if he wants to make that money, I suggest he stay away from Wilder.”
What Fury says is true. It’s too risky for Joshua to take the fight with Wilder first before he faces Fury in late 2018. Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn seems to be interested in making the Joshua-Wilder fight, since he’s talked about it frequently. If Joshua is the one that is giving Hearn his marching orders rather than the other way around, then the Wilder will happen before the match against Fury.
Hearn is usually the one that is guiding the careers of his fighters. Joshua is too popular for that. He and his team make the decisions in who he faces, and Hearn goes out and tries to setup the fights that Joshua wants. If Wilder does beat Joshua, then it will take a lot of the interest away from a future fight against Fury next year.
“He sicced Eddie Hearn on Joseph Parker,” said Fury about Joshua. “That’s an easy fight. But as that clip showed, a little fat Bulgarian chinned him. So, can Parker beat him? Yes, he can. Parker is as tough as a brick,” said Fury.
The fighter that Joshua lost to in the amateur ranks is Romanian Mihai Nistor. Joshua was stopped in the 3rd round by Nistor in the 2011 European Championships. Nistor was kind of plump looking, but he wasn’t short. Nistor is a 4-time Romanian National Champion. Still only 27, Nistor has remained an amateur. He clearly had Joshua’s number in their fight in 2011. The way Nistor fought, there’s a good chance that he would beat Joshua even today.
He’s young and ambitious with nothing to lose,” said Fury. ”Nobody expects Parker to beat Joshua. Parker can knock him out. Joshua’s chin is dodgy. We know this as a fact. Young Daniel [Dubois], 20-years-old, is supposed to have knocked him out sparring. We know he can be hurt. This man isn’t unbeatable. This is a pumped up steroid man, full of juice. This ain’t Muhammad Ali. I’m the man of the era. I beat the super champion easy,” said Fury.
Hearn is trying to put together the Joshua-Parker fight for early 2018. If Joshua wins that fight, then it’s possible Wilder will come next unless Hearn isn’t serious about wanting to make that fight right now. Joshua has a lot of options available to him if he doesn’t face Wilder in the summer of next year.