Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury: Wilder labels Anthony Joshua a ‘coward’ and vows to put Fury in hospital

Wilder will defend his WBC title against Fury after talks with Joshua broke down

Deontay Wilder insists he does not want to think about Anthony Joshua as he begins to finalise his plans to put Tyson Fury “in the hospital” in their title fight against on 1 December, although he could not pass on the opportunity to call the British heavyweight champion a “coward”.

The American will defend his WBC title against Fury, who is continuing his boxing comeback, and the winner is likely to face Joshua at Wembley in April, where he gets to effectively hand-pick his opponent. Wilder and Joshua were in talks for a titanic bout, but negotiations broke down as did their relationship.

“I don’t have a message to Anthony Joshua," Wilder told reporters. "It’s all about Tyson Fury, and I don’t want anyone to ask me about Anthony Joshua at all. He was a coward and that’s that.”

Fury was once unified champion of the heavyweight division and is putting his undefeated 27-0 record on the line against Wilder. The self-title ‘gypsy king’ has been deploying his usual mind games, excluding his bizarre Wikipedia stunt, but Wilder insists Fury does not know what is about to hit him.

“Tyson Fury doesn’t know what he’s gotten himself into,” Wilder said. “He better be hugging, and wrestling, and kissing them [bears] as well too because he’s definitely going to need a teddy bear in the hospital, for sure.

“When you fight the Bronze Bomber, these guys know what they’re getting themselves into. They can hear the stories, they can hear the tales all they want. But when you get in the ring and feel it, that’s when, and only when, you know what you’ve been hearing, what you’ve been seeing, is real.

“There’s nothing at all about him that concerns me, that scares me. You know, I’m the best in the world. I don’t think no other heavyweight has been through what I’ve been through, to go through so many different calibres of fighters.”