Tyson Fury demands fight on Anthony Joshua undercard be cancelled

Tyson Fury left some choice words for Deontay Wilder ahead of his fight against Jai Opetaia on the undercard of his showdown with Anthony Joshua.

Fury and Wilder have rarely seen eye to eye since the 'Gypsy King' secured an 11th-round knockout victory over the 'Bronze Bomber' in their trilogy five years ago.

The American accused the former heavyweight champion of foul play during their encounters, having suffered two defeats against Fury after their first dust-up in December 2018 ended in a draw.

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Tyson Fury thinks Deontay Wilder should be 'nowhere near the ring'

When 80,000 spectators converge on Cardiff's Principality Stadium on December 11, all eyes will be on the long-awaited showdown between Fury and Joshua.

The pair will finally settle a decade of beef and arguably decide who is the greatest British heavyweight of the generation. On the undercard, meanwhile, Wilder faces an eye-catching bout against unbeaten 'regular' cruiserweight champion Opetaia.

It's the first time Wilder has stepped into the ring since April, when he beat Derek Chisora via split decision, and he is hungry to prove he can re-establish himself among the heavyweight elite, having held the WBC heavyweight title from 2015 to 2020.

Although he is widely regarded as one of the most feared punchers of his generation, the American has declined rapidly in recent years, suffering defeats in two of his previous four fights. In fact, Wilder has not defeated a top contender since stopping Luis Ortiz in 2019 and has lost one-sided bouts to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang since 2023.

When discussing Wilder's undercard showdown with Opetaia - who is stepping up to heavyweight for the first time - Fury claimed the 'Bronze Bomber' should be "nowhere near a ring".

"It’s silly, really, on Deontay’s part,” Fury told FightHype. "He shouldn’t be in the ring; he should be nowhere near a ring. It is a dying shame that this man has to continue to fight after he is shot to bits.

“He should have never fought again after I beat him the last time; that should have been the end of it, but needs must. If you are getting knocked out by people that you probably should have knocked out yourself, then you should walk away.

“Him and Chisora looked shockingly terrible when they fought. Chisora is like 145 years old. And he was taking Wilder’s knockout-power shots – that are not there anymore – flush in the face, not even budging him.”

Fury felt Wilder should have retired after their last showdown together in October 2021, but one of his biggest boxing rivals will want to demonstrate his incredible power against Opetaia next month.

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Deontay Wilder's manager confirms another fight broke down

A showdown with Opetaia is a chance for Wilder to get the better of someone with an unbeaten professional record, while for his opponent, it's a first high-level heavyweight fight after moving up a division.

But a clash with Opetaia wasn't the only option for Wilder, with his manager confirming there were talks of a title fight with WBA 'regular' heavyweight champion Murat Gassiev.

"We were hoping Deontay wanted just because it’s a title to fight Gassiev instead, but that wasn’t to be," Shelly Finkel told The Sun.

“And they finally came back with what we had agreed on before. But they had some internal things to work out with Netflix, and they got worked out."

Finkel is confident that Wilder can bring his best level when he faces the Australian, believing he will have too much power for his opponent.

“We’re very excited to be on this card. Hopefully Deontay will show what he has been showing in training.

“And that although Opetaia is a very good fighter, I don’t think he can take the power of Deontay. And we’ll find that out.”