The former ruler of the heavyweight division, Wladimir Klitschko, may not be that impressed with Tyson Fury, but he's very impressed with WBC world champion Deontay Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs).
There are ongoing talks for Wilder to collide with IBF, IBO, WBA, WBO champion Anthony Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs).
Both Wilder and Joshua were used as sparring partners by Klitschko.
Klitschko retired from the sport last year.
In the fight of his career, he fought Joshua in April 2017 before a crowd of 90,000 at Wembley in London.
Klitschko had Joshua down and in serious trouble in the sixth round, but the younger man rallied in the later rounds to score two knockdowns to secure a TKO victory in the eleventh round.
A highly anticipated rematch was scheduled for the fall, but Klitschko instead made the unexpected decision to retire from the sport.
While Klitschko confidently sides with Joshua to defeat Fury, who in 2015 handed the Ukrainian legend his first defeat in a decade, he is not as confident about the British superstar's ability to overcome the dangerous nature of a Wilder showdown.
He says Wilder has certain attributes, like a big advantage in speed, to overcome Joshua's edge in technique.
“It would be a dangerous fight for Joshua. I’m not saying he wouldn’t win it but Wilder has something,” Klitschko said.
“Due to his weight, he is extremely fast. He has good power in his hands and he’s extremely fast. Maybe he’s kind of wild in his technique but those punches are coming from who knows where.
“He is hard to defend against – where is that punch going to land or which side is it coming from? Joshua has all-around more capability but Wilder is taller than Joshua and is faster than Joshua.
“He doesn’t have the weight behind his punches but he is extremely fast, and it would depend upon what kind of mood both fighters were in.”
2023-10-20 20:01:28
