By Ayewoh Franklyn Osezele
The trilogy is the word. Epic, enormous, eternal are the proportions it promises. But it concerns the best two heavyweights of this generation, Fury and Wilder. It does not include the holder of the most belts in the division, Joshua.
In the past, Deontay Wilder was criticized for reaching fame without beating the best. Soon Anthony Joshua will be reviled in the same manner- especially after the Fury-WilderTrilogy. Tyson Fury on the other hand can never be so discussed. The man is a lion. He would take on anyone pre and post his mental health challenges.
As for Wilder, he has long since dispatched with the taunts of beating up ‘Bums’. If beating a very difficult Luis Ortiz twice, a TKO and a KO didn’t undo the reason behind his critics’ argument, it is because they didn’t include the heavy punching Dominic Breazeale in-between.
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But then if they reexamined Wilder’s explosive abilities, this time, without discounting his spectacular knockdown of Fury in the twelfth round of their first fight, their argument would expectedly follow the way of honour- ‘We were wrong about Wilder, totally wrong.’
Presently, the world waits. Fury waits. Wilder waits. Joshua waits. Boxingwaits for a new world order to emerge in the heavyweight division post-pandemic.
And it will definitely be dictated by the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder Trilogy. Nothing else. Whatever the outcome of this third fight, it would take something extraordinary from anyone in the division to undo the history these two warriors will have written.
Such is the enormity of the challenge Fury and Wilder unleash. Again the man presently holding the most belts doesn’t feature here. To put it plainly, Anthony Joshua’s contribution to heavyweight boxing is being eclipsed within this enclave of the bests.
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As much as they are willing to do battle with each other, so Fury and Wilder are willing to do battle with anyone. This is the thing about these two. The desire. The willingness. But where boxing matches are heavily determined by pre-contract talks and where the suitability of offers and propositions would sound the bell for the first round of actual boxing, one cannot see the very best fights happening soon.
Also whether promoters can employ unsatisfactory contract propositions as a ruse to evade the very best or can press for a mutually beneficial offer for a chance to prove mettle, steel and all what not, is all shrouded in mystery.
However complicated the paperwork maybe, hard evidence is expected from Anthony Joshua against the very best in the division. ‘Fight Fury! Fight Wilder! Claim the division!’Or better still ‘Fight Wilder! Fight Wilder yesterday, fight him several years ago! And fight Fury; now, today, tomorrow! And also claim the division!’There is no better way nor time to prove his undisputed heavyweight credentials.
Like Mohammed Ali, like Iron Mike, Like Lennox Lewis, to carve his own mark on the division. From Anthony Joshua, is expected such desire that wouldn’t at all be saved by the bell into fighting a mandatory challenger. This is because, as far as world heavyweight boxing is concerned, the bragging rights belong to none other than Fury and Wilder.
