British-Nigerian boxer Anthony Joshua has vowed to remain calm and avoid emotional decisions when he faces Tyson Fury on December 11, saying he will not repeat the mistakes Deontay Wilder made in his trilogy against the British heavyweight.
The former two-time world heavyweight champion believes maintaining composure will be crucial when he meets Fury at the sold-out Principality Stadium in Cardiff, with the fight scheduled to be shown live worldwide on Netflix.
Fury defeated Wilder twice and drew once in their three-fight rivalry, with Joshua pointing to the American’s approach as a lesson ahead of his own showdown with the former world champion.
Speaking to The Ring’s Mike Coppinger, Joshua said Wilder’s determination to finish Fury whenever he hurt him often left him exhausted and allowed his opponent to recover.
“Wilder took those fights very personally, and that could be quite exhausting, especially when you hurt someone and try to finish them,” Joshua said.
“You lose a lot of energy, and then Tyson comes back. Wilder could have gotten the job done if he was a bit more calm, cool and collected. He could have learned from that.
“Wilder tried to take him out of there, while Fury just managed to weather the storm and come back.”
Joshua insisted he would not allow frustration or the desire to secure an early finish to dictate his performance.
“I do not believe that would be me. I am going to keep a calm head,” he added.
Beyond the rivalry, Joshua will also have the opportunity to pursue a historic achievement, with Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, confirming that the World Boxing Association (WBA) super heavyweight belt will be at stake in Cardiff.
Also Read:
Victory would make Joshua a three-time world heavyweight champion, joining Muhammad Ali, Michael Moorer, Lennox Lewis and Vitali Klitschko among boxers to have achieved the feat. Evander Holyfield won the title four times.
The belt became available after Oleksandr Usyk vacated it. Murat Gassiev, the WBA’s number one contender, had been expected to move up, but the appeal of a Fury-Joshua contest appears to have taken priority.
Both Joshua and Fury previously lost their world titles to Usyk.
Warren, who is also staging the rematch between Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley for the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) title this weekend, said plans were in place for unification fights in 2027.
“We have got three of the four heavyweight champions on our roster, and we are going to make unification fights next year,” he said.
Joshua heads into the contest with a professional record of 30 wins, four defeats and 27 knockouts, while Fury has recorded 36 victories, two defeats and one draw, with 25 knockouts.
[wpadcenter_ad id='745970' align='none']