Deontay Wilder has challenged Tyson Fury to a unification fight to decide who is the world’s No1 heavyweight.
The American Wilder holds the WBC belt, while Fury’s surprising victory over Wladimir Klitschko means the Briton is the IBF, WBO and WBA champion.
Wilder told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I’ve got to fight someone in January and after that fight I would love to have a unification bout â€" and guess what, I wouldn’t mind coming to the UK for that one. No matter where it might be, I want to be the undisputed champion of the world.â€
He added: “We haven’t had an undisputed champion in I can’t remember how long and I want to be the first name to bring the belts back together and heavyweight boxing back to its full potential.†Britain’s Lennox Lewis was the last undisputed champion in 1999.
“Next year is going to be a great year for me, regardless. Everything is falling in our plan, our time and our planning for what we want to do.â€
Whether he fancies Wilder remains to be seen, with Fury initially deriding the 30-year-old, three years his senior, calling him “a basketball player who took up boxing a couple of years agoâ€.
The reality is that Wilder turned professional after taking bronze at the 2008 Olympics, and has a 35-0 professional record. “Let’s laugh at his name, shall we?†Fury said.
“Wladimir Klitschko was the No1 in the division. Probably the pound-for-pound king, whatever that means. So why would I be bothered about a novice like Wilder?â€
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/20....com/sport/2015/dec/01/deontay-wilder-tyson-fury-unification-wladimir-klitschko
The American Wilder holds the WBC belt, while Fury’s surprising victory over Wladimir Klitschko means the Briton is the IBF, WBO and WBA champion.
Wilder told BBC Radio 5 Live: “I’ve got to fight someone in January and after that fight I would love to have a unification bout â€" and guess what, I wouldn’t mind coming to the UK for that one. No matter where it might be, I want to be the undisputed champion of the world.â€
He added: “We haven’t had an undisputed champion in I can’t remember how long and I want to be the first name to bring the belts back together and heavyweight boxing back to its full potential.†Britain’s Lennox Lewis was the last undisputed champion in 1999.
“Next year is going to be a great year for me, regardless. Everything is falling in our plan, our time and our planning for what we want to do.â€
Whether he fancies Wilder remains to be seen, with Fury initially deriding the 30-year-old, three years his senior, calling him “a basketball player who took up boxing a couple of years agoâ€.
The reality is that Wilder turned professional after taking bronze at the 2008 Olympics, and has a 35-0 professional record. “Let’s laugh at his name, shall we?†Fury said.
“Wladimir Klitschko was the No1 in the division. Probably the pound-for-pound king, whatever that means. So why would I be bothered about a novice like Wilder?â€
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/20....com/sport/2015/dec/01/deontay-wilder-tyson-fury-unification-wladimir-klitschko
