And by the way, Wilder is not the toughest opponent Fury faced, it's Wlad and it's not even close. Wilder had been ducking Wlad and then AJ, he was cherry-picking and hostaging the WBC belt for many years. It was his first time stepping up against Fury who just returned from years of retirement thinking he could take advantage of it.
Fury fought an older Wladimir, and if he had fought him during Wladimir's prime, I believe Fury wouldn't stand a chance. Wilder was probably so hyped during the time he faced Fury due to his record, boasting a 100% KO rate. Even now, if we deduct the outcomes against Fury, he still looks like a very dangerous fighter. But Wilder fell into the hands of Fury...First, a split draw, second, TKO, and then lastly, KO.
Honestly, if Wilder and Joshua were to face each other, I find it a very interesting fight to watch because both fighters are slowly coming back to being champions. But if I had to choose, I'd put my bet on Wilder as he was only beaten by one fighter, which is Fury, while Joshua has losses to two different boxers already, two from Usyk and one from Andy Ruiz.
I think Wlad was already 40 at that time. I'm also taking prime Wlad over these current heavyweights. He's not just big but very strong, high IQ, and has power in both hands. I remember when Wilder's team mentioned they weren't ready to face Wlad for the undisputed championship.
AJ and Wilder aren't at their peaks anymore and both are a bit mentally broken. I believe the odds will remain close with Wilder most likely taking a slight edge. But I'll be betting on AJ if it happens. AJ has the better skills, he can somehow box and has a decent defense. Wilder only needs a single punch to put AJ to sleep but if he can't do it in the first 5 rounds, he might start to fatigue and he has no defense. Wilder's defense is his offense so there is nothing he can do when he's running out of gas.