Tyson Fury wants the fight on Anthony Joshua’s undercard to be cancelled.
Tyson Fury had some strong words for Deontay Wilder ahead of Wilder’s fight against Jai Opetaia, which is happening on the undercard of Fury’s big match with Anthony Joshua.
Fury and Wilder haven’t seen eye to eye for a long time, especially after Fury knocked Wilder out in the 11th round of their trilogy fight five years ago. Wilder has accused Fury of cheating in their matches. They first fought in December 2018, which ended in a draw, but Fury won the next two fights.
On December 11, 80,000 fans will gather at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium to watch Fury and Joshua finally settle their long-standing rivalry and maybe decide who the best British heavyweight is right now. Meanwhile, Wilder will face Opetaia, an undefeated cruiserweight champion moving up to heavyweight for the first time.
This will be Wilder’s first fight since April, when he narrowly beat Derek Chisora. Wilder wants to prove he still belongs at the top after holding the WBC heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020. Although Wilder is known as a powerful puncher, he hasn’t fought at his best recently, losing two of his last four fights. He hasn’t beaten a top fighter since 2019 and lost to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang in 2023.
Talking about Wilder vs. Opetaia, Fury said Wilder shouldn’t even be fighting anymore. He told FightHype, “It’s really silly for Deontay. He shouldn’t be in a ring or anywhere near a ring. It’s sad that he’s still fighting when he’s clearly past his prime. He should have retired after I beat him last time.” Fury also mentioned how poorly Wilder looked in his fight against Chisora, who is much older, yet took punches from Wilder that no longer seem as powerful.
Fury thought Wilder should have quit after their fight in October 2021, but now Wilder is getting ready to show off his power again against Opetaia.
For Wilder, fighting Opetaia is a chance to beat someone with an undefeated record, while for Opetaia, it’s his first big test at heavyweight. Wilder’s manager, Shelly Finkel, said there were talks about a title fight with Murat Gassiev, but it didn’t happen. Instead, they came back to the current fight deal after working out some issues with Netflix.
Finkel feels optimistic about Wilder’s chances. He said, “We’re excited to be on this card. Hopefully, Deontay will show what he’s been working on in training. Opetaia is a good fighter, but I don’t think he can handle Deontay’s power. We’ll see.”