Tyson Fury: WBC champion Deontay Wilder wants to fight Brit

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Wilder is undefeated in 35 professional fights - 34 won by knock-out
Wilder is undefeated in 35 professional fights - 34 won by knock-out

American WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder wants to unify the division by fighting new WBA, IBF & WBO champion Tyson Fury.

Briton Fury, 27, stunned the sport by beating Wladimir Klitschko on Saturday – ending the Ukrainian’s nine-year undefeated reign.

Immediately after the bout 30-year-old Wilder – who is due to fight in January – tweeted he was “coming” for Fury.

“I want that fight to happen as soon as possible,” Wilder said.

He told BBC Radio 5 live on Monday: “I’ve got to fight someone in January and after that fight I would love to have a unification bout – 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.”

Wilder said his WBC belt is the “crown jewel” of boxing and is the “most famous, most respected” title, but insisted: “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.

“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.”

Following his unanimous points victory in Dusseldorf, Germany, Manchester boxer Fury ruled out fighting “fraud” David Haye, who twice pulled out of bouts between the two.

British current WBC International and Commonwealth heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, 26, said an all-British fight with Fury would happen “next year or the year after”.

Klitschko, 39, said straight after the fight that he would trigger a rematch clause, but could still decide to retire instead.

And when asked about fighting Wilder, Fury responded: “Why do we need to mention Deontay Wilder? Let’s laugh at his name, shall we?

“Wladimir Klitschko was the number one in the division. Probably the pound-for-pound king, whatever that means. So why would I be bothered about a novice like Wilder?

“He’s a basketball player who took up boxing a couple of years ago. I’m a true natural fighter.”

‘Fury-Klitschko was a dance competition’

Wilder described Saturday’s fight as the most boring in heavyweight history and said he would show Fury “no remorse” if they face each other in the ring.

The 30-year-old, who won bronze as an amateur at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, is undefeated in 35 fights, winning 34 by knock-out.

He has a scheduled title defence on 16 January 2016 in New York, with the opponent not yet announced.

“You can’t take nothing away from Tyson, a win is a win,” said Wilder. “There was a lot of dancing going on, I guess it was a dance competition rather than a fight.

“When somebody tunes in to look at a world title fight that is not what they expect to see, they look to see a fight and somebody get beat up for the title.”

Talking about his style, Wilder added: “I’m going to try to disfigure you so bad that your kinfolks won’t recognise you at the end of the fight. I don’t hate you, but I want to destroy you and your career.”

‘Bare bums in the shower’

In his first news conference since becoming world heavyweight champion, Fury compared his “masterclass” performance to a “mongoose in a cobra’s nest, taking all the eggs home”.

He called the Klitschko camp “cheats” – saying he avoided drinking water for fear of sabotage, dismissed questions about being a role model and described the sport’s biggest names as “just bare bums in the shower”.

His trainer and uncle Peter Fury compared Saturday’s stunning victory to Muhammad Ali’s 1964 victory over Sonny Liston, saying there were the “brains of Britain” for out-thinking Klitschko. He then demanded journalists give “the eighth wonder of the world” a standing ovation and a bow.