Tyson Fury is set to face off against Anthony Joshua on December 11 in Cardiff, Wales. Along with national bragging rights at stake, a win would vault Fury back into the title conversation and into more lucrative paydays.

The former unified heavyweight champion remains a draw, as the buildup to the Joshua fight shows. He generates interest mostly through his in-ring skills, but also through his ability to build hype around his matches.

Fury is on the other side of 35, and with the end of his career much closer than the beginning, he understands how brutal the sport can be for older fighters. As a result, the former champion knows when a fighter's best days are behind them. Now, he has taken the opportunity to discuss a rival and his perceived in-ring downward spiral.

Tyson Fury says Deontay Wilder is 'shot to bits'

From 2018 to 2021, Fury and former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder faced each other three times. The first ended in a draw, with many believing that Wilder did more to win. However, Fury won the last two by decisive knockout. Since then, their paths have diverged, but Fury spoke candidly about his rival during an interview with FightHype.

"It's silly, really, for Deontay's part. He should not be in the ring. He should be nowhere near it. It's a dying shame that this man has to continue to fight when he's shot to bits. He should never have fought again after I beat him the last time. That should have been the end of it."

Despite once having fight-stopping power with both hands, Fury says those days are gone, citing the Zhang debacle as the prime example.

"If you're getting knocked out by people that you probably should have knocked out yourself... Him and Chisora were shockingly terrible when they fought. Chisora is like 145 years old, and he was taking Wilder's knockout power shots that are not there anymore, flush in the face, not even budging him. It is a shame, because if you want to match them two five years ago, it would not have lasted one round."

To Fury's point, Wilder couldn't evade anything Zhang threw and lost because he was immobile, and the quickness he once enjoyed was gone.

On the undercard of Fury vs. Joshua, Wilder will fight Jai Opetaia. Opetaia views this as a chance to defeat a former heavyweight champion and establish his reputation in the division. Opetaia, moving up from cruiserweight, will be the younger and quicker fighter. If he can avoid Wilder's power shots, his cardio will gain him the victory. Despite their heated trilogy, Fury showed his old opponent grace.

"It's a hard thing to walk away from, and we've seen so many of the greats come back for whatever reason over the years, usually financial reasons, and it is a hard one to see, and it's a sad state of an affair, to be fair."

Ultimately, if he can pass governing body medical tests, Wilder will probably fight as long as the money is there.