Tyson Fury: 3 Possible Challengers for the Big Heavyweight

Tyson Fury extended his unbeaten record to 18 wins this weekend with a routine win over Irish Champion Martin Rogan.

Fury (18-0-0, 13 KOs), the former British and Commonwealth champion, sent Rogan to the canvas with a slugging right hook to the body to get the victory as the fifth round drew to a close.

Rogan beat the count, but his corner threw in the towel to save their fighter from further punishment. 

Rogan, a former Commonwealth Champion and Prizefighter winner, is now 40 years old and he looked every day of it in that final round.

This was after some good early work from the Belfast-born fighter, who scored solidly with his right in the first couple of rounds as Fury surprisingly adopted a southpaw stance.

Fury finally came to the party in the third, when he sent Rogan sprawling to the floor with a big left to the head.

The momentum of the fight changed with that punch, as Rogan began to operate more cautiously and Fury came out of his shell.

After good fourth and fifth rounds and after the second knockdown, Rogan's corner rightly threw in the towel to end the bout.

It was a performance that proved very little for Fury.

He won the fight, but it was a fight that he could have looked better in. Rogan's best years are well behind him, but he still managed to trouble Fury early.

After relinquishing his British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles to avoid a fight with fellow up-and-coming heavyweight David Price, who will Tyson Fury step into the ring with next?

Here are the top three heavyweights who could be squaring up to the 6'9" Fury next.

Winner of Kubrat Pulev vs. Alexander Dimitrenko

The next stated aim in Fury's career is to go after the European title before going after a world title.

Logically, that would make his next opponent the winner of the May 5th bout between Kubrat Pulev and Alexander Dimitrenko.

Robert Helenius won the title last December in a poor showing against Derek Chisora when he was hampered by injury. He has since vacated the title due to a long layoff because of that injury.

That leaves Pulev and Dimitrenko with the opportunity to take the belt.

Pulev should be favoured in this fight. Dimitrenko has suffered with injuries recently and in his last fight against Michael Sprott, he didn't look like the fighter he once was.

While Fury has the tools to beat Pulev or Dimitrenko, both could be potential banana skins. It would be unlikely for promoter Mick Hennessey to throw him into such a risky bout without at least one or two more fights under his belt.

Johnathon Banks

Fury stated that he hoped his next opponent would be an American.

With a Klitschko fight at the back of his mind, a good fight to take on would be Johnathon Banks.

The current NABF heavyweight champion fought on the undercard of Vitali Klitschko vs. Derek Chisora and based on that performance, he shouldn't give Fury too many problems.

While he was poor in that fight, he is the chief sparring partner for the Klitschko brothers and a victory over Banks could put Fury into their minds as a potential challenger.

A fight with a Klitschko is what Fury is aiming for, and a victory over Banks could be the best fight for him at this stage.

David Price

Undoubtedly, the fight that fans want to see is an all-British matchup with Olympic bronze medalist David Price.

Price and his promoter, Frank Maloney, have aggressively pursued a fight with Fury, with Maloney accusing Fury of being a "chicken" after negotiations for a fight broke down last year.

Both men are at similar stages of their careers and seem to be quite evenly matched on paper.

Outside of a fight with a Klitschko, this is the fight that would make the most sense financially for Fury, but after vacating his titles in order to avoid Price last year, it is unlikely that his mind will have changed so soon.

Still, we can hope.