Its a real great opportunity for Wilder historically if he faces Fury, but comes with boom or bust potential. And there are two HWs in history that come to mind that were in the approximate position he was in: Joe Frazier and Sam Peter, right before their fights with Ali and Vitali, respectively. All three were (non lineal) title holders. All considered in the top 3 active HWs at the time. Frazier had the best resume going into the first Ali fight of the three, but probably not by as much as people would like to think. Wilder has more title defenses than any of the three, but really, his resume is about on par with what Sam Peter's was at the time. Frazier won, and it leapfrogged him into ATG status. Peter lost, was never the same, and his reputation has suffered (probably more than it should). I could really see either scenario happening with Wilder. If he loses, becoming the Sam Peter of his era. If he wins, becoming the Frazier of his era. Of course, it doesn't have to go down like that, he could go on to come out on top of the era, unlike Frazier, or even with a loss, could do more than Peter did after losing to Vit. But these are definitely potential correllary paths for him to take.
I agree with the Peter comparison far more than the Frazier one. Joe would have many more opportunities to prove himself and losses didn't matter as much in the 70s. Guys were expected to test themselves, opponents were harder to duck, and a loss happened every now and then. But if Wilder loses to Fury, it pretty much shows that he was the stepchild of HW champs the last few years, that he's clearly a class below AJ. He'll be written off as a guy who used to have a belt but wasn't a "real" champion.
Why...so you think if he loses he'll just never fight again? Why could he not rematch Fury or earn a shot at AJ somewhere down the line? This is just a really odd take...
