Deontay Wilder and Jai Opetaia will meet on the Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua bill next month, but Fury has dismissed any chance of the bout being a competitive one, describing the contest as ‘silly’.
Wilder and Fury shared an iconic trilogy just a few years ago, but ‘The Bronze Bomber’ has not looked the same fighter since, with defeats to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang being considered as major warning signs that the American’s time at the top is done.
However, earlier this year, Wilder overcame Derek Chisora to thrust his name back into the heavyweight title mix and he is now scheduled to take on two-time cruiserweight world champion Opetai in the co-main event of the Fury-Joshua card.
Speaking to FightHype, Fury labelled the fight as ‘silly’, insinuating that Opetaia will have little issue disposing of the former WBC heavyweight king.
“It’s silly really, on Deontay’s part. 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.”
Fury then went on to declare his belief that Wilder’s fabled knockout power should be forgotten about ahead of the fight, suggesting that he no longer possesses the god-given asset that has brought him such success over the years.
“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.”
The Fury-Joshua show will take place on Friday, December 11, at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, and will be available to watch live on Netflix.
