By: Sean Crose
Talk to ES . News, returning former heavyweight Deontay Wilder weighed in in a recent top-flight match between his divisional colleagues, Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usyk (a match that Usyk won by decision). “Joshua did exactly what we expected him to do,” Wilder hit hard, “be careful and run out of gas.” As far as Wilder was concerned, Joshua simply didn’t have the energy needed to defeat someone of Usyk’s caliber. “He has serious fitness problems,” Wilder said of Joshua. “He had serious fitness problems…the best man won that night.”
Regarding the undisputed fight discussed between Usyk and Tyson Fury, Wilder indicated that Usyk would cut his job for him. “I think Fury is too big for him,” Wilder said. “One thing that he (Fury) has for him, is his size.” However, Wilder wasn’t quite ready to get rid of Usyk. “But anything is possible,” he added. “Anything can happen in the boxing business.” As for the belief that boxing needs a Usyk-Fury fight while boxing fans need a Usyk-Wilder fight, Wilder claimed a fight between him and the undefeated Usyk would benefit both fans and this sport.
“I think it’s (good) for boxing and for the fans,” Wilder said of the showdown with Usyk. “At the end of the day, for boxing and for the fans, you need a special heavyweight, you need an interesting heavyweight.” The colorful and colorful Wilder explains that excitement is essential to the sport. “You need it for boxing to get boxing fans in,” he said. “They don’t want to see boring stuff.” Wilder believes boxing fans come first. “Without the fans,” he continued, “we wouldn’t be able to create… it would just be a business.”
41-2-1 Alabaman was perhaps the heaviest fight in heavyweight history. Even when overtaken by opponents like Fury or Luis Ortiz, Wilder constantly finds a way to get them on the field. However, after losing to Fury two out of three times, Wilder found himself in an odd position with his fan base. Although the evidence suggests that Fury at his best is simply the better fighter of the two, many argue that Wilder can beat both Usyk and Joshua. Plus, despite his strange behavior after his defeat to Fury, Wilder is still a popular and attractive fighter. He is now set to face Robert Helenius in October.
