Tyson Fury is uncertain whether Deontay Wilder has enough in the tank to fight again after their epic trilogy.
Wilder was considering retirement after suffering a second consecutive defeat to Fury last year during an epic battle with four knockdowns. But the 'Bronze Bomber' has since confirmed his plans to return to the ring and wants to rekindle a charge for the heavyweight world titles.
And despite being uncertain about his future, Fury believes that Wilder is still capable of knocking anyone out in the division if he performs to the best of his capabilities. "He is a very dangerous fighter and I think he will knock anybody out if he hits them in the face," Fury told Queensberry Promotions during an interview discussing his future plans.
"And in 12 rounds of course he will hit you in the face. But I don't know what is left in his tank. You don't have a trilogy with the best fighter on the planet and come out of the other side to tell a great story and win world titles. He has been absolutely destroyed mentally, physically and emotionally, and I would say he is a wreck at the moment. He has had a cracked jaw, a cracked skull, been knocked out cold twice and it is a tough comeback for him.
"It all depends on what he has got left but I wouldn't like to see him carry on because I know he doesn't need the money. I'd like to see him retire because I'm not sure whether he wins a few more fights or goes in there and is totally shot and breaks up his legacy. At the moment, he has lost to the best fighter of a generation but there is no shame in that. But if he comes back and starts getting wiped the floor with because he is shot to bits, that would be disgraceful."
Wilder broke his hand during the third instalment of their rivalry while showing his supreme power by sending Fury to the canvas twice. However, he came up short, having been stopped in the penultimate round with a series of barraging blows.
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Andy Ruiz, Otto Wallin and Joseph Parker have all issued call-outs to Wilder, who will likely look to return as a candidate for Fury's WBC title. A number of other options could also be on the table for the former champion, who believes the division would be less exciting without an American in the ascendency.
"One thing about boxing that I've proved is, boxing thrives off of excitement but the excitement of an American champion," he told Blue Blood Sports TV. "Once that dies, so does boxing. it was living proof, because I'm coming back on popular demand because that's all I've been hearing from high and low. From homeless people all the way up to billionaires. So many people have reached out and told me it's important. Without an American heavyweight boxing really isn't exciting."
