Mike Tyson takes aim at Anthony Joshua after Parker fight, makes Deontay Wilder claim
MIKE TYSON weighed into the heavyweight debate between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder last night – and he did not pull any punches.
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Iron Mike was ringside as Jarrett Hurd and Erislandy Lara put their light-middleweight world titles on the line at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas last night.
And he was asked his opinion on the current state of play in the division he once ruled, taking a thinly-veiled shot at Joshua following his 12-round victory over Joseph Parker last weekend.
“Joshua looked like he was the guy to [become undisputed champion] but in his last fight, he did not impress me,” Tyson told Showtime.
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“[Wilder] is improving, he’s getting better.
Joshua looked like he was the guy but in his last fight, he did not impress me
“It will be a knockout. Somebody is getting knocked out.”
And when asked whether either of the two champions would have had a chance of beating him in his prime, he chuckled.
“I don’t know, I would have to be there," he said.
Wilder had been strongly fancied to step into the ring with Joshua next – but the situation was complicated this week after WBA ordered AJ to face Alexander Povetkin in a mandatory defence of his world title.
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The WBO, IBF, WBA and IBO champ now has 30 days to negotiate with the Russian, who knocked out David Price last weekend.
Elsewhere on the card last night, James DeGale reclaimed his IBF super-middleweight crowd from Caleb Truax over 12 gruelling rounds – despite picking up a nasty cut above his right eye in the third round.
The 32-year-old said he is now targeting a unification clash with the winner of George Groves’ World Boxing Super Series clash against Callum Smith later this year.