Deontay Wilder, the WBC heavyweight champion, is set to make his first defense of 2016 on Jan. 16 against Artur Szpilka (20-1). Wilder is one of the sport’s premier knockout artists, and fans are clamoring for him to face greater competition than he has since defeating Bermane Stiverne for his title.

Wilder is making noise about a unification fight vs. Tyson Fury, who after beating Wladimir Klitschko, laughed at Wilder as a possible opponent. Let’s laugh at his name, shall we? … He’s a basketball player who took up boxing a couple of years ago,” Fury scoffed.

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Well Wilder heard him, and has his own questions about Fury’s ability.

"He's just a tall guy. He don't have no power. He likes to act a fool in the ring, which I like to as well. He likes to have fun. I like to have fun in the ring, but I knock them out," Wilder said. He then made a bold prediction, and said he’s willing to fight Fury in England if that’s what it takes.

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“I'll go to London for that. I’ll go to his territory for that one. It’s not going to go to the judges," Wilder said.

Wilder has a point. Fury did dethrone a champion who hadn’t lost in more than a decade, but the manner in which he pulled it off was far from impressive. He only landed 23 percent of his punches, and connected with 83 shots in total, including jabs. That is meek output, and for it to have won him the fight suggests Klitschko is badly faded from his prime.

Fury is expected to first fight Klitschko in a rematch, meaning a potential Wilder vs. Fury fight wouldn’t happen until the summer at the earliest. Wilder is an active champion, so he will likely fight again in the spring; Fury has nothing scheduled at the moment, meaning a possible Klitschko fight wouldn’t happen until the spring at the very earliest.

No fan should expect Wilder vs. Fury to take place in 2016, but they should be happy to see Wilder angling for the challenge.

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