Wilder: Fury is still lineal champion

Deontay Wilder insists he’s not worried about what Anthony Joshua is doing, and that all of his energy and focus is on his Dec. 1 WBC heavyweight title defense against Tyson Fury.

When talking about Fury’s preparedness after almost three years out of the sport and just a pair of warm-up bouts this year, Wilder said that Fury is still considered the man by many, since no one has beaten him:

“He was the one to obtain all the belts, he was the one that beat Klitschko, he is the man that beat the man. We’re looking at him as that. He may not have all the titles, but he is still considered the lineal champion of the world. If he wasn’t fighting me people wouldn’t be talking about if he needs another warm-up, if he’s ready and stuff like that. People are hesitant and want to complain because it’s me.”

Wilder (40-0, 39 KO) certainly can’t afford to overlook the tricky Fury (27-0, 19 KO), who even at 80% or so could probably still box circles around most of the division. End of the day, it figures to be the matchup it would be one way or another: Wilder’s devastating knockout power against Fury’s crafty slickness.