Wladimir Klitschko former unified world champion is without a doubt one of the all-time greats. Dr Steelhammer is one of the most dominant heavyweight champions of all time. Granted, he wasn’t in the strongest era and wasn’t the most exciting to watch, but his dominance can’t be denied. However, the Klitschko era would end when the brash Tyson Fury rocked up in 2015. Fury would perplex Klitschko with his behaviour outside the ring trash talking and disrespecting the champion. And in the ring Fury would comprehensively outbox a befuddled Klitschko to become unified champion.
After being unable to secure a rematch against Fury, Klitschko would end up fighting a young, hungry, inexperienced, and raw Anthony Joshua in 2017. The fight would be a back-and-forth affair but as the fight continued Klitschko would start to pull ahead being the superior technician. However, Joshua would rally late to stop Klitschko in round 11. Following this fight Wladimir Klitschko would retire for good with his legacy intact.
And so who else better to comment on how a potential showdown between Fury and Joshua would play out than someone who has faced both.
Wladimir Klitschko Makes A Prediction for Joshua vs Fury
Given a showdown between Joshua and Fury is looking more likely it’s interesting to look at various opinions. Wladimir Klitschko gave his opinion back in 2018 in an interview with Sky Sports. He said, “Hands down Joshua. He is getting to be the complete fighter. Technically, size-wise, weight-wise, power-wise. And he is a good learner.” Clearly favouring Joshua.
Klitschko would elaborate by giving his take on Fury. Klitschko said, “The other guy [Fury], like a fart in the wind, is there, and it is gone. In the history of boxing, there are a lot of examples of this kind of guy. They can be successful for a time but are not disciplined enough to continue to be successful. I wish Tyson well, but I think there is a lack of discipline there, and discipline is more important than motivation. Drawing from my experience, I would say it is going to be very difficult for Tyson because there’s that lack of discipline. ”
Ageing Well?
Now, this is rather insightful, and some aspects of this have aged well compared to others, but it has to be taken into context of when it was made back in 2018. Now the Joshua pick doesn’t seem to have aged well given Joshua’s recent knockout loss to Daniel Dubois. However, Klitschko’s assessment about Joshua becoming a more complete fighter is accurate. Joshua has improved technically by quite a bit and is keen to improve. Granted holes have been exposed but he has still improved.
Regarding Fury there are also some hits and misses. Keep in mind back in 2018 Fury had only just resurfaced following his struggles with mental health, addiction, and weight gain. But for the most part it holds up with the undisciplined angle having shone through more than once. Since his comeback Fury has shown issues relating to discipline such as ballooning up in weight out of camp. Granted he is not as bad as he used to be but it has also shown in fights.
Fury struggled with Otto Wallin and suffered a serious cut against an opponent he is leagues above. Fury in the Wilder trilogy, after perfectly demonstrating how to beat Wilder in the rematch struggled. He was clearly heavier and far less defensively responsible than his previous fights against Wilder. In the fight against Francis Ngannou, he struggled with someone who is practically a novice boxer. When Fury is on form he is one of the best in the world but he does have some inconsistency and needs the right occasion to have his best performances. He showed this in the Usyk fights despite losing clearly he showed he belongs at the top.
Stylistically Joshua vs Fury is still intriguing. Despite both men being past their best and beltless the fight is still huge. Better late than never as they say and hopefully we get this blockbuster fight in 2025.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
