Ranking the Best Opponents for Deontay Wilder's Next Fight
It’s not just for college football anymore.
Though homecoming and sports are most often linked on gridiron Saturdays in the fall, WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder proved other approaches work, too.
The Alabama native returned to compete in his home state for the first time since 2012 and thrilled fans at Birmingham’s Bartow Arena with a ninth-round stoppage of seventh-ranked challenger Eric Molina.
Molina was dropped four times before the end came at 1:03 of the ninth.
“It wouldn't have done any good to see a quick knockout," Wilder told Showtime's Jim Gray after the fight. "I was calm, cool and collected picking my shots. I'm trying to become a technician and box. I know the punches are going to come."
Though he'd won all eight rounds on one official scorecard and seven of eight rounds according to the remaining two judges, Wilder was noticeably wobbled by a right hand in the third and occasionally tagged by winging shots to the head and more determined work to the body from Molina.
Ringside punch statistics had Wilder landing 141 total shots compared to 49 for Molina, with drilled-down advantages of 75-6 in jabs and 66-43 in power shots.
Bleacher Report had Wilder up 78-72 when referee Jack Reiss intervened.
It was the sixth career bout in the “Heart of Dixie” for the Tuscaloosa-born titleholder, who defended his green belt for the first time since winning it in January via 12-round decision from Bermane Stiverne.
Wilder is now 34-0 with 33 knockouts and became the first American-born heavyweight to successfully defend a major crown since Chris Byrd retained his IBF title against DaVarryl Williamson in 2005.
"I'm definitely still a work in progress, and I'm still learning," Wilder said. "I have fun when I'm learning. I like to learn. I'll still be a work in progress until I collect all the belts."
The convincing win—not to mention the Bronze Bomber’s affinity for call-outs and other trash talk—will surely ramp up the chatter surrounding his next fight, and we surveyed the landscape for the best prospective opponents before winnowing it down to a list of five.
They’re not all mandatory challengers or fellow champions, but they’d all provide compelling hurdles on his road to mainstream superstardom.
And as always, we invite you to click through and leave comments along the way.
5. Alexander Povetkin
1 of 5
Thirty-five-year-old Alexander Povetkin was last seen on the main stage being bounced off a Moscow canvas four times by Wladimir Klitschko on the way to a losing challenge for the heavyweight division’s other four belts—IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO—which are all held by the Ukrainian.
It was a monotonous jab and clinch fest for which precisely no one has demanded an encore, but the Russian has nonetheless returned to work and scored three consecutive knockout wins to push his career record to 29-1.
The most recent of those victories—a 91-second stoppage of Mike Perez on May 22—cemented Povetkin as the WBC’s No. 1 contender, which means a purse bid will be ordered to stage a fight with Wilder if the two sides cannot come up with a negotiated agreement.
If you’re a fan of sanctioning body mandatories—and c’mon, who isn’t?—then this is the fight for you.
OK, maybe it’s got a little bit more going for it than that. But probably not much.
4. Antonio Tarver
2 of 5
No matter how much time passes, Antonio Tarver just won’t go away.
The former light heavyweight champion seemed a done deal after decision losses to Chad Dawson in 2008 and 2009, but he reinvented himself as a cruiserweight with an IBO title win in 2011.
That reign was short-circuited by a positive post-fight drug test 11 months later, but rather than going into seclusion, the now-46-year-old “Magic Man” has reappeared as a credible heavyweight.
He stopped Klitschko trainer Johnathon Banks in seven rounds two weeks before Christmas and announced this week that he’ll meet Philadelphia-based veteran—and fellow former cruiserweight champ—Steve Cunningham in a crossroads bout on Aug. 14.
A win there—paired with Tarver’s post as a ringside analyst on Spike TV—will give the outspoken Floridian a powerful platform from which to campaign for a title match, a routine he got started on earlier this year before Spike’s March 13 card featuring Andre Berto and Josesito Lopez.
“If I get a shot at the heavyweight title, I’m winning. Period,” he said. “There isn’t any way around that. I’m beating Klitschko. I’m beating Wilder. Because that’s my destiny.”
3. Anthony Joshua
3 of 5
An immediate match between Wilder and 25-year-old Anthony Joshua would not only join a pair of recent Olympic medalists—the former won super heavyweight bronze in 2008, and the latter copped gold in 2012—but also two long, lanky KO artists who’ve combined to stop 46 of 47 professional opponents.
But it might be better in another year or two, after each has built his respective brand.
Joshua declared himself a mainstream “it” guy with a late-May blowout of U.S. veteran Kevin Johnson, stopping the New Jersey native in two rounds after each of his six previous losses had come by decision, including a 12-rounder against then-WBC champ Vitali Klitschko in 2009.
The win boosted the 6'6" Joshua to a position as No. 2 contender to the 6'7" Wilder’s throne, a few months after the Englishman had gotten a verbal endorsement from Wladimir Klitschko—who’s sparred with both—as the division’s next dominating force after he leaves the spotlight.
“I haven’t seen an athlete as athletic, as big, as fast, as talented as Anthony,” Klitschko told the Telegraph, “and if he’s going to continue the way he is, developing himself, the future belongs to him.”
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
2. Tyson Fury
4 of 5
Gentlemen, start your microphones.
Some may argue Tyson Fury isn’t the most accomplished or most deserving challenger for Wilder, but few would debate that a match between he and the WBC champ would be a sound bite Valhalla.
The 26-year-old Englishman stands two inches taller than Wilder at 6'9", has stopped 18 of 24 opponents in a pro career that began seven years ago and can match the American word for word when it comes to pre-fight bulletin board material or post-fight bravado.
In February, after Wilder dethroned Bermane Stiverne, Fury told the Mail Online:
"It would be the biggest selling fight with the greatest smack talk in heavyweight history. No other fight could come close to it. It would be pure entertainment.
Back in the Ali days, there was only one man doing the talking. The others wouldn't talk. This is different, though. We can both talk, we both play the press and we are both natural born entertainers. That's why it's the biggest fight out there as far as I'm concerned.
"
Wilder stoked the chatty fire in March, enticing Fury to challenge him before pursuing a possible match with four-belt champion Wladimir Klitschko.
“I want him really bad. I’m tired of all the talking," Wilder told ESNews (h/t Scott Gilfoid of Boxing News 24). "It’s been three years since we’ve been doing this. I’m at the point where I’m in a no talk zone. I got what you want, so you know where to find me. So let’s make it happen. Don’t go the Klitschko route; go my route."
1. Wladimir Klitschko
5 of 5
Some provide nostalgia. Some provide potential. Some provide wordplay.
But only one possible opponent—IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO champion Wladimir Klitschko—gives Wilder the chance to stake a legitimate claim on the one thing he claims to want most of all.
Heavyweight preeminence.
Now 39 years old and unbeaten since 2004, the mammoth Ukrainian has begun hitting numbers for consecutive title defenses previously reached only by top names in divisional history. A late-April downing of Bryant Jennings—Klitschko’s 18th successful risk of the IBF and IBO belts—placed him within range of Hall of Famers Larry Holmes (20) and Joe Louis (25) for the longest all-time reigns.
Wilder was in camp and sparred with Klitschko prior to Klitschko's 2012 defeat of Mariusz Wach, and he told CBSSports.com prior to Saturday’s fight against Molina that the only question remaining about a unification fight is when it will finally take place.
“It’s not if it’s going to happen, it’s when it’s going to happen,” he said. “All the parties come together and put the deal together we can unify these titles. He’s got more belts, but I’ve got the big belt. I’m looking forward to that fight.”
Nothing else comes close.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
