will Deontay Wilder become an all time great if he defeats Tyson Fury?

If this is Tyson Fury himself typing this, then ... stop typing and get back to the treadmill!

 

If he got a legit (t)ko win over Fury, yes, he'd be in the conversation of top 25 HW ATG's, though still with the potential to crater off of that. But yes, at that stage, he'd finally have a signature win, along with one other very quality win, and a bunch of lower level but mentionable wins, all without taking a loss. He'd have 9 successful title fights, which would be in the top 10 of all time. He'd have the best HW champ ko record of all time. So, even accounting for the fact his title string was historically weak before Ortiz, yes, his achievements would match up fairly well with many of the people we think of as top 25 HW ATG's. I'd be glad to go through a couple of them to compare and contrast if challenged on this; its not really rationally debatable. Sure, there is plenty to dislike about how he got here, and I know people are slow to give active fighters ATG credit, and finally, if Wilder starts getting sparked out routinely after KOing Fury, then it is highly revocable. But, yes, he KO's Fury, and if he retired the next day, he would right there in the conversation with some of the lower top 25 HW ATG's.

 

No and your next question is......

 

If Joshua beats Povetkin tomorrow, and the Russian retired, that makes it Vitali, Wlad and Povetkin as the 3 best HW's of the 'Klitschko' era which have all been avoided by Wilder.

He can't become an ATG in the next 5 years.....He's already avoided the most proven HW's of his era.

 

No. If this fight goes ahead I fear its a money fight.. Fury must be looking to cash out as he isn't ready and Wilder knows it's easy money..
If Wilder fought Fury say within 6 months of the Wlad win, and beat him, then his stock would of gone up loads..IF it goes ahead, it's a Wilder KO before half way..

 

He certainly didn’t do his legacy any favours by avoiding Wlad. Without looking at how far Wilder was through his career, I’ll hold back on the Vitali front. If he fights and beats Fury it will be no more than a name for me, given how Fury has been for the last 3 years. Stiverne took 2 years out, and my word did it show.

Wilder could still become an ATG though, but he would need to fight a respectable Fury, and Joshua, and then throw in some legitimate defences.

 

Not until he avenges his losses to Nichols and Sconiers.

 

No. The lineal title is garbage.

 

Wilder isn't really of the Klitschko era, though. Most of his work happened after Wlad lost his belt. Almost all his serious work happened after Vitali retired. I don't really feel like getting into the Povetkin debate, but I'm assuming you and I would look on the reason that fight didn't happen differently.

You are correct though, those three are the best HW's of the second half of the K era, and the fact that he doesn't have them on his resume hurts. But it certainly doesn't preclude him being an ATG. Vitali and Wlad never beat any of the 4 best HW's of what I consider the Lewis era, in Lewis, Tyson, Holyfield, Bowe (I rank them in that order). The K's career's overlapped those four by about the same margin as Wilder's overlapped the K's. It certainly didn't stop them from being ATG's. Frazier didn't fight the best two of the previous era, Patterson and Liston, both of whom overlapped similarly, and it didn't stop him from being an ATG. Other examples out there as well. Sure it hurts not beating a K or Povetkin, but it by no means excludes him from the ATG list entirely.