Whilst Shelly Finkel admits that his man isn’t the best in the world right now, he does think he’s a part of the biggest fight that could be made in the division.
Deontay Wilder is on the comeback trail. He faces Robert Helenius this weekend to attempt to work his way back up to the top of the division and back into title talk. In the meantime, his manager has told FightHype.com that Tyson Fury, the man who sent Wilder down the ranks, is the current best in the world.
“At this point, I believe [it’s] Tyson Fury.”
The choice must come between the two champions – Fury or Oleksandr Usyk, someone who Wilder is rumoured to face in the near future if an undisputed fight can’t be made. Despite the intriguing style match up in a Wilder – Usyk fight, or the bad blood for a fourth scrap with Fury, Finkel is convinced that neither is the biggest fight in boxing.
“Look, the biggest fight probably out there of any fight, is who? Deontay and who? [Joshua] of course. How much would Usyk draw on his own? So it’s the opponent.”
“US and the UK are your two biggest markets. They’re both English-speaking. The man [Usyk] does not speak English.”
It may be frustrating for fans that the closest we’ve come to seeing Wilder and Joshua in the ring is years after they both have belts, but, regardless, it’s still one they will want to see. Should Wilder come through Helenius this weekend and ‘AJ’ successfully build back from the Usyk losses, it seems 2023 might finally be the year the grudge match happens.