It’s going to be tough putting him in the top 10 just because of the lack of title defences and lack of longevity of reign. He actually needs to beat the winner of AJ vs Usyk to get into the top 10. Or failing that beat someone like Joyce assuming he becomes a title holder after beating paint dry.
Sadly not quite top ten. I do believe he will retire, but come back at some point, probably when Joshua has rejuvenated himself.
Not close at all to being a top 10 fighter (even if its just a HW ranking.) Didn't beat enough elite opponents, lacks longevity and hasn't looked spectacular in most of his wins. But if he defeats Usyk or AJ? The argument becomes a lot better in his favour and I'd be content with him classed as a top 10 HW
Numbnuts for not getting Joshua first. If he knew Deontay could have won the arbitration, then he should have fought him in early 2021, and secured the Joshua fight for the mid-year. Instead, he pointlessly stalled, Wilder won the arbitration, and his chance at the goldmine fight was taken from him.
Beating Joshua and Usyk would definitely put him up there, top 5, maybe top 3, because then he would have essentially cleaned out the division and taken down the other top tier fighters of his era. Without those wins though, I don't think it would be fair to rate him that high. I think you've got to beat the best to be the best, and can we honestly say he's done that? I just don't think so. His resume is good, but definitely not great. If he is truly retired, then all we'll have are hypothetical outcomes of these hypothetical fights against AJ and Usyk that never happened and will never happen, and that doesn't resolve anything.
