Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in disagreement as Deontay Wilder ‘makes final decision
Deontay Wilder caused a disagreement between Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua before reportedly deciding to fight again this year.
Wilder, at 39 years old, flaunts a daunting record of 43 wins, 4 losses, and 1 draw – including snagging the WBC heavyweight title in 2015 and valiantly defending it 10 times before ultimately being dethroned by none other than Fury himself. Their first encounter was in December 2018, ending in an edge-of-the-seat split draw, but when the two titans clashed again in February 2020, it was Fury who triumphed with a seventh-round TKO to snatch the championship.
Despite a third bout ending with Wilder on the wrong side of an eleventh-round knockout the following year, effectively crushing his title aspirations, he remained a feared figure in the heavyweight division. However, fast forward to 2025, and he’s riding a two-fight losing streak, prompting Fury to suggest it’s time for Wilder to hang up his gloves.
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Speaking on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Fury said: “Being truthful, I’d like to see poor old Deontay retire from boxing. Obviously, he lost the three fights to me. We took a lot of years off of each other’s lives. That war that ended in the 11th round by knockout, that takes a lot out your tank and you don’t recover from fights like that.
“Between me and Wilder in our trilogy there were 10 knockdowns. It takes a lot out of a fighter. Even when he’s come back and had a couple of fights since against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang, he’s only a shadow of his former glory. The only thing left of Deontay is his name. And that’s it. So I’d like to see him retire for sure before he does damage to himself,” reports the Mirror.
Despite Fury’s comments about his ring rival, Wilder is planning a boxing comeback soon, according to reporter Manouk Akopyan. It’s claimed that Wilder will ‘return for a comeback fight in April on BLK Prime’ with an opponent set to be announced in Los Angeles on Saturday.
Joshua, who disagreed with Fury’s take, will have his own opinion on Wilder deciding against retirement and returning to fight. Speaking about Wilder’s future last year off the back of his knockout defeat to Zhilei Zhang, AJ told DAZN: “It’s completely up to him, I can’t say. I just look at and say, ‘If you want to do it, do it’, it’s not a big deal boxing, if you want to fight, fight on, and if you don’t want to do it, don’t do it any more, it’s just where your heart’s at.
“He went in there against a good fighter in Zhilei, he’s an Olympian, Zhilei, people forget that. He’s come through, he’s got a great style. I fought him before in the Olympics and he’s still doing what he does now, so many years on. He was in with a real good, seasoned professional with a great pedigree. It doesn’t matter, come again if you want, and if you don’t, you’ve got your family there. There’s another life outside of boxing for him.”
