Frank Warren, promoter for WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, is backing Deontay Wilder to defeat Anthony Joshua – if their fight comes together.
Joshua vs. Wilder is targeted to take place on a January date in Saudi Arabia.
Fury has faced Wilder on three occassions.
They fought to a controversial twelve round split draw in 2018. Fury stopped Wilder in a one-sided fight in their 2020 rematch. And then Fury overcame two knockdowns to knock Wilder out in their trilogy fight in 2021.
Last Saturday night in London, Joshua returned to the ring and knocked out Robert Helenius in the seventh round. Warren was not overly impressed with the win.
“He caught him with a big shot. But, let’s get it right, he’s a guy who’s got a big punch and the other guy when he fights at that level he usually gets knocked out when he steps up. You’ve not learnt anymore about AJ in that fight coming out of it than going into it,” Warren told Boxing Social.
And while Wilder is being pushed as a legacy fight for Joshua’s career, Warren strongly disagrees with the position. He firmly views Fury was the legacy fight for Joshua.
“Tyson’s beaten Wilder three times, so if [Joshua] beats Wilder, if he does, and I don’t think he will – so what!,” Warren said.
“Tyson’s beaten him three times and probably taken a lot of miles off of his clock in the fights that he had with Tyson. Tyson did a job on him, especially in that third fight, he had Tyson down as well, it was a tough fight. Wilder didn’t come out of that fight physically well I don’t think. I don’t think he’ll beat Wilder by the way but that’s irrelevant – I don’t think he’ll beat Wilder.”
Credit: BoxingScene