British-Nigerian boxer Anthony Joshua has vowed to remain calm and avoid emotional decisions when he faces Tyson Fury on December 11, saying he does not intend to repeat what he considers Deontay Wilder’s mistake in his previous fights against the Briton.
The former two-time world heavyweight champion believes composure will be crucial when he meets Fury at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, in a bout scheduled to be streamed live globally on Netflix.
Fury defeated Wilder twice and drew once with the American during their three-fight rivalry, with Joshua arguing that Wilder’s eagerness to finish his opponent often left him exhausted and allowed Fury to recover.
Speaking to The Ring’s Mike Coppinger, Joshua said Wilder sometimes allowed his emotions to dictate his approach, particularly after hurting Fury.
“Wilder took those fights very personally, and that could be quite exhausting, especially when you hurt someone and try to finish them,” Joshua said.
“You lose a lot of energy, and then Tyson comes back. Wilder could have gotten the job done if he was a bit more calm, cool and collected. He could have learned from that. Wilder tried to take him out of there, while Fury just managed to weather the storm and come back.”
Joshua insisted that frustration or the desire to secure an early knockout would not determine his strategy against Fury.
“I do not believe that would be me. I am going to keep a calm head,” he added.
Beyond the rivalry, Joshua has a major milestone to pursue in Cardiff, with Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, saying the vacant World Boxing Association (WBA) Super heavyweight title will be at stake.
Victory would make Joshua a three-time world heavyweight champion, further strengthening his place among the leading fighters of his generation.
The title became vacant after Oleksandr Usyk relinquished it. Murat Gassiev had been the WBA’s leading contender and was expected to move into contention before the high-profile Joshua-Fury showdown took precedence.
Both Joshua and Fury have previously lost their world titles to Usyk.
Warren, who is also promoting the rematch between Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley for the World Boxing Organisation heavyweight title, said the winners could be involved in unification fights in 2027.
“We have got three of the four heavyweight champions on our roster, and we are going to make unification fights next year,” he said.
Joshua enters the December bout with a professional record of 30 wins, four defeats and 27 knockouts, while Fury has recorded 36 victories, two defeats and one draw, with 25 knockouts.
The long-awaited meeting will bring together two former world champions who have discussed fighting each other for years but have never faced one another professionally.
