that would be silly to retire so the atg and retirement questions are mute. the number one heavy would probably have to be Peter but not by much. Its all a mute point. thompson doesn't have the skills to be in the same ring as Wlad. this is a weak optional won off a weak eliminator. Thompson is top 15 at best.
Thompson beating him wouldn't be as embarrassing as losing to Purrity, but it would once leave the HW division looking pretty damn weak. It's time for Wlad to stop acting like southpaw have some magical power to f--- him up, and lay them out proper.
Yeah right, Vitali couldnt even beat his training camp and pissed himself at the prospect of fighting Rahman, yet he's going to come back nearly 4 years later and beat an extremely dangerous oppenent like Peter, I doubt it.
For one thing, it depends how he loses...there's a world of difference between a dubious split-decision loss and getting your block knocked off in a round. Given the division today, a loss for Wlad would most likely not prevent him from becoming a champion again.