Tyson Fury’s claim that David Benavidez would be a much harder opponent than Anthony Joshua leaves him selling a fight while talking down the challenge it presents.

In comments made two weeks ago to FuriociTV, Fury described Benavidez as “four to five times harder” than Joshua and claimed the American would stop his December 11 opponent in three rounds. That is a bold endorsement of Benavidez, but it also reduces the credit Fury can expect if he beats Joshua.

“What a fight that [Fury-Benavidez] would be. The only thing is that, with David Benavidez, he’s about a four to five times harder fight than Joshua,” Fury said.

“I’ll take it because that’s what I do — there’s not a man on this earth that I won’t fight. But never think that Joshua’s a tougher fight than David Benavidez. He stops Joshua in about three rounds.”

Fury offers no technical explanation for that three-round claim. Benavidez’s combination punching and sustained pressure make him an interesting heavyweight prospect, but projecting those qualities against Joshua requires more than enthusiasm about a fighter moving through the divisions.

Joshua would bring heavyweight size, reach, and power. Benavidez would have to get into punching range, sustain his attacks, and absorb whatever came back. His success at cruiserweight does not establish that he could do all of that against Joshua, much less finish him inside three rounds.

The comparison also serves Fury’s immediate purpose. Praising a hypothetical opponent gives him another way to insult the man he is actually fighting, without having to settle the Benavidez argument in the ring.

Yet Fury cannot easily have both claims work in his favor. If Joshua is dramatically easier than a fighter still building his cruiserweight career, beating him becomes a result Fury has already told us to expect.

Fury’s words create an awkward measure for his own performance: struggle against Joshua, and the dismissive comparison looks careless; win comfortably, and he has already discounted the achievement.

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