5 possible opponents for Deontay Wilder following his KO loss to Tyson Fury
After his monumental fight and subsequent knockout loss against Tyson Fury this weekend, the big question in everyone's mind is what’s next for Deontay Wilder?
Despite his loss to Tyson Fury, it’s difficult to deny that Deontay Wilder is still one of the best heavyweight boxers on the planet. That means there are no shortage of options for him.
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Sure, ‘The Bronze Bomber’ could hang up his gloves, and nobody would really criticize him. After all, he’s 35; he has held the WBC heavyweight title for five years, and has only ever lost to Fury in the ring.
However, Deontay Wilder has already stated his plans to continue fighting. So who should be his next opponent? Here are five potential options:
#5. Deontay Wilder vs. Charles Martin
One potential option for Deontay Wilder to face, particularly if he wants a quick rebound from his loss to Tyson Fury, could be former IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin.
There are many reasons why this fight would make sense for ‘The Bronze Bomber’. But the fact that Martin is probably a beatable opponent at this point stands near the top.
‘Prince Charles’ has not fought since February 2020. While he’s a highly skilled heavyweight, he isn’t ranked in the top ten by the highly regarded Ring Magazine right now. He was also thoroughly unable to deal with the punching power of Anthony Joshua in his 2016 clash.
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More to the point, though, Deontay Wilder already has some history with Martin. The two men were initially pegged to fight at some point after ‘The Bronze Bomber’ lost his second fight with Fury in 2020. However, Wilder pursued his trilogy bout with ‘The Gypsy King’ instead.
That didn’t stop him throwing some insults towards Martin, though. Wilder basically claimed he only fought Joshua for a big payday, and wasn’t really interested in winning the fight.
While Martin never publicly responded to those comments, they remain something a promoter could use to fuel interest in this fight, which would probably not be much of a big deal otherwise.
To conclude, a Deontay Wilder vs. Charles Martin fight wouldn’t be the most attractive option, but it might still make sense at this stage.