As anticipation builds for his long-awaited heavyweight showdown against Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua has offered a tactical breakdown of why past rivals stumbled against “The Gypsy King”, and how he plans to avoid the same fate. Joshua (30-4, 27 KOs) is set to square off against Fury (36-2-1, 25 KOs) on December 11 at a sold-out Principality Stadium in Cardiff, headlining a blockbuster card broadcast live globally on Netflix.
Speaking in an interview with The Ring’s Mike Coppinger, Joshua analyzed Deontay Wilder’s trilogy encounters with Fury, pointing out that emotional pacing ultimately cost the American puncher. “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.” For Joshua, the blueprint for December centers entirely on discipline and emotional control under the bright lights of Cardiff. “I don’t believe that would be me,” Joshua added.
“I’m going to keep a calm head.”