After Anthony Joshua’s unanimous decision loss to Oleksandr Usyk on Saturday night, WBC and The Ring champion Tyson Fury appears to be locked in as king of the heavyweight division.
Fury, who was rated as the No. 1 heavyweight before Joshua’s loss to Usyk, was reaffirmed as the best by Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who said during a Wednesday Zoom call with national media that “there’s no heavyweight in the world that can beat Tyson Fury, period, end of story.”
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To Fury’s camp, that also includes Deontay Wilder, who will challenge Fury in their third meeting on Saturday, Oct. 9 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
“Deontay Wilder, make no mistake, this will be Deontay Wilder’s make-or-break moment in his life,” Fury said. “Anybody can lose a fight, anybody can have a bad night. But this is his make-or-break time.”
Here are three takeaways from Fury’s news conference.
Fury is focused on Wilder only
Following Joshua’s loss to Usyk, an undisputed heavyweight title fight is now in jeopardy.
Fury and Joshua inked a two-fight deal in March to unify their heavyweight belts, though Usyk is now a champion and Joshua activated a rematch clause to fight him, according to Usyk’s team.
That leaves Fury’s immediate future — he said he wanted to fight WBC interim heavyweight champion Dillian Whyte, Joshua (twice) and Derek Chisora in his next five bouts — uncertain. For now, he said he’s only focused on Wilder.
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“I don’t care about anybody else,” Fury said. “They’re not on my radar. Nobody’s on my radar, only the Bronze Bomber, aka, the Big Dossier. He’s the most dangerous heavyweight out there, barring none, and it’s the only man that I really care about beating.”
Asked if he would fight Joshua after a potential win over Wilder, Fury only said he has “a number of tasks ahead” and doesn’t care who he fights next. On Usyk’s victory, Fury said: “He did his job, and that’s all I know.”
He expects ‘make-or-break moment’ for Wilder
After Fury defeated Wilder by TKO in February 2020, Wilder did not take credit for the loss; he blamed his 40-pound ring walk costume for weakening his legs, said his water was spiked and that Fury loaded his gloves, which caused his ear to bleed.
Fury shrugged off Wilder’s accusations again on Wednesday afternoon, saying he was making excuses.
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“What I’ve seen from Deontay Wilder is he can’t accept defeat,” Fury said. “He doesn’t know why he lost — he’s got a million reasons why.
“He didn’t show any class at all in defeat, and he hasn’t accepted he’s been beaten. Therefore, he can’t overcome it.”
Despite his assurance he will “smash Deontay Wilder to bits,” Fury also said Wilder is “the most dangerous heavyweight on the planet” and both fighters will aggressively seek a knockout.
“I’m going to go all guns blazing, full out attack, all infantry, straight out the door from round one until I finish this,” Fury said. “It’s either going to be me, or Wilder.”
Fury is confident in his shape
In June, Fury said he aimed to be 300 pounds ahead of his third fight with Wilder, which was scheduled to take place in July before Fury and members of his camp tested positive for COVID-19.
Fury said on Wednesday he’s been “working on” his weight, though delays with his positive test and hospitalization of his daughter, Athena, have affected him.
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“I’ve been working on it,” Fury said. “I had COVID, I had a month off with me baby that was unwell. Eating all that stuff takes a lot. I don’t know if I’m going to be at me career heaviest, but giving it me best, best shot. Don’t worry about that.”
Regardless, Fury said he’s in the best shape of his life and is currently weighing “270 (pounds)-plus.”
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