By Tim Royner: Tyson Fury believes he’ll have no problems beating heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder when the time comes for him to face them. Fury (26-0, 19 KOs) has a very high opinion of himself that seems unrealistic.
With the time out of the ring eroding his skills, Fury may never get back to the level he was at in 2015 when he beat Wladimir Klitschko. But even if Fury never does get back to the level he was at before, he’s still one of the best talkers in the heavyweight division. If nothing else, Fury will out trash talk Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua.
Fury is making his second fight his comeback on Saturday night against former two-time heavyweight world title challenger Francesco Pianeta (35-4-1, 21 KOs) at Windsor Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland. This is a fight that Fury hopes will get him sharp enough to defeat Wilder in November. Pianeta, 33, will need to give Fury a real fight of it if he’s to get anything out of encounter. Wilder is considered the devastating puncher in the heavyweight division right now, and he says he’s not kidding around with Fury. He plans on going after him to knock him out in November.
”Deontay Wilder, Anthony Joshua, all the bums out there,” Fury said to ESPN.com. “It’s very easy to win all the belts back. I’ve only got to beat two bums, basically. Wilder and Joshua and that’s it. They both haven’t got a brain cell between them so it shouldn’t be too hard for a great boxer like myself.”
Some boxing fans would argue that it’s Fury who is lacking in brains in choosing to fight Wilder in his third fight of his comeback if he gets past Pianeta on Saturday. It’s a move by Fury that is destined for failure. Fury has a chance like anyone to pull off an upset against Wladimir if he can land the perfect punch.
At this point, Fury would be lucky if he can beat someone like Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller, Alexander Povetkin or Dillian Whyte. Fury will likely be taking on too much when he faces Wilder later this year. For a lot of boxing fans, they’re still skeptical that Fury will ever take the fight.
Fury beat Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 to make a name for himself. However, Fury was unable to continue fighting after he suffered mental issues and tested positive for a banned substance. Wladimir had been hoping to get a rematch with Fury in order to avenge his loss, but the fight failed to happen. Wladimir was eventually beaten by Joshua in 2015 after two years out of the ring. Wladimir subsequently retired from the sport not long after losing to Joshua. If the desire was there for him to come back for one fight, Wladimir would be an excellent option for Fury to fight to get him ready for the big dogs in the heavyweight division.
”I think I’m the greatest heavyweight that’s ever been born, so I should handle Francesco Pianeta and whoever else is out there, Deontay Wilder, Anthony Joshua, all the bums out there,” Fury said.
Fury and Pianeta are the chief support for the Carl Frampton vs. Luke Jackson card at Windsor Park in Belfast. The two fights will be streamed on Showtime on Facebook and YouTube in the U.S on Saturday night starting at 3:30 p.m. ET. A replay will be televised on Showtime Extreme on 10:00 p.m. ET/PT 7:00 p.m
Former World Boxing Council cruiserweight champion Tony Bellew doesn’t believe that Fury is remotely ready to be taking on a fighter like Wilder. Bellew thinks Fury will wind up getting knocked out in this fight. I don’t know if Fury will ever be ready to take on a fighter like Wilder. The problem that Fury has is he takes it easy after he wins an important fight by eating a lot and getting out shape. If Fury is unable to stay in the gym in between fights to keep himself in shape, he’s never going to beat a fighter like Wilder. It’s not going to happen.
He is definitely not ready for Deontay Wilder,” Bellew said to skysports.com. “At the minute it’s a bit of a freak show with Tyson Fury. Tyson Fury is a vulnerable heavyweight, there’s no two ways about that.”
Bellew was hoping to get a fight against Fury for later this year. Obviously that’s not going to happen now that Fury is targeting a fight against Wilder in November. Bellew is looking at ending his career against IBF/WBA/WBC/WBO cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (15-0, 11 KOs) later this year in November. Bellew will need to be satisfied in facing Usyk instead of Klitschko. If Bellew gets lucky and defeats Usyk, then he has an outside chance of getting a fight against Fury in 2019 if he wins his fight against Wilder. However, it’s very unlikely Fury and Bellew will be able to keep winning long enough for them to face each other next year.