Former heavyweight division ruler Wladimir Klitschko would like to see his former for, Tyson Fury, shock WBC world champion Deontay Wilder on Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Fury created shockwaves in boxing when he traveled over to Germany in November 2015 and won a stunning twelve round decision over Klitschko to capture the unified heavyweight crown.
But then Fury was dealing with depression and substance abuse issues, which led to a layoff of over two and a half years.
Fury resumed his career in 2018, which led to a two win streak and then an unexpected performance where he fought Wilder to a controversial twelve round split draw in December of that year.
Last month, Fury made a decision to drop his trainer of the last five fights, Ben Davision, and hired U.S. trainer SugarHill Steward.
Above everything else, Klitschko is concerned with Fury's state of mind.
“I fought Fury and I sparred with Wilder. Knowing those guys, both as people and in the ring, I believe either Fury will win on points — or he will be knocked out. It all depends on the mental shape Fury is in. It’s not about the physical shape," Klitschko told The Sun.
“If you remember, I was training for a rematch with him that never happened because he got into cocaine and some other issues. It seems to me he is unstable with his discipline. It is like a gamble. You throw the dice and never know what is going to come up. We don’t know what kind of mental shape Fury is going to be in. I want him to win — but I’m not sure he is right.
“As a boxer, I would say Fury is really awkward, because of his size and the way he moves. He is very mobile for a big man, very mobile. Wilder is pretty different too. They have different styles, different backgrounds and will be at different weights. Everything is different. So I don’t want to say who has the better style. That is questionable.”