![]() ![]() Why did Deontay Wilder fight Tyson Fury instead of Anthony Joshua? ![]() But at that point, in April 2017, the main focus was WBC champion and knockout specialist Deontay Wilder. Those belts were available because Fury sunk into a battle with drink, drugs and depression that saw him balloon in weight and spend more than two-and-a-half years out of the ring.Īfter his up-and-down classic with Klitschko, a delirious and possibly-concussed Joshua called out Fury in the immediate aftermath. Joshua began to build something far more substantial, unifying by winning the WBA title against Klitschko and the WBO by out-pointing Parker. That was one of the belts Fury took from Klitschko but the IBF stripped him for agreeing to a rematch with the Ukrainian great as opposed to facing their mandatory challenger Vyacheslav Glazkov, who suffered a knee injury in their January 2016 fight - heralding a TKO win for Martin and one of the shortest, most forgettable reigns in heavyweight history. Joshua’s graduation from prospect to champion was swift when, just four months later, he stopped the overmatched Charles Martin in two rounds to lift the IBF title. The following month, Joshua claimed the best win of his 15-fight career with a seventh-round knockout of Dillian Whyte in a barnburner at O2 Arena - a contest that both enhanced the reputations and highlighted the vulnerabilities of Britain’s two best heavyweight prospects. When Fury scored a huge upset win with a masterclass performance against long-reigning champion Wladimir Klitschko in Dusseldorf in 2015, the prospect of a meeting with Joshua was already bubbling under nicely. ![]() Getty Images Why didn’t Tyson Fury fight Anthony Joshua after he beat Wladimir Klitschko? ![]()
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