Imagine if you will, Deontay Wilder defeating Tyson Fury in ther upcoming rematch, then toppling Anthony Joshua in yet another massive fight, then seeing off all comers he might run into (or they might run into him), and then retiring at age 40, unbeaten. Undefeated. Perfect (aside from that draw with Fury). If this happened, where would you rank Wilder among the pantheon of heavyweight greats? Pretty highly, I would hazard a guess.
But Wilder, when speaking to the media in L.A ahead of his fast-approaching return showdown with Fury, insisted that he will be ranked as THE best ever when the time of his exit from the sport comes. Wilder, currently 42-0-1(41) and planning on scoring quite a few more KO’s before he’s ready to hang up the gloves, says we fans will miss him a whole lot when he’s gone.
“When I leave boxing, I will be known as the one that was the best ever in the heavyweight division, if not in boxing, period,” Wilder stated. “That’s my goal. When I retire, people are going to be upset, because they’re going to want to see more. That’s why I say, give me my roses now. Love me now. Because I am the best to have ever done this. I am the hardest hitting puncher in boxing history.”
Slowly, and quite recently, a number of notable boxing experts have gravitated towards Wilder and his claims that he is in fact the hardest hitting heavyweight in boxing history. Not everyone is convinced – with plenty of boxing folk asking the question: who has Wilder knocked out? – but it is a quite fascinating question: what if Wilder does retire unbeaten?
It could happen.
If the reigning WBC heavyweight champ beats Fury a week on Saturday, then tackles and defeats Joshua, then has a few more defenses/wins, then maybe, just maybe, Wilder will never suffer a loss. If, for example, Wilder were to walk away with something like a 48-0-1, or a 49-0-1 record, he would have to be given serious consideration among the heavyweight greats.
But can he do it? Can Wilder get past Fury on February 22? The way he’s talking, nothing can stop “The Bronze Bomber!”