5 possible opponents for Deontay Wilder following his KO loss to Tyson Fury

#2. Deontay Wilder vs. Andy Ruiz Jr

Could a fight between Deontay Wilder and Andy Ruiz Jr make sense?

Another fight that could make plenty of sense for Deontay Wilder right now would be a clash with Andy Ruiz Jr.

Not only would that see ‘The Bronze Bomber’ face a highly ranked opponent – Ruiz is currently ranked #6 by the Ring Magazine – but it would also allow PBC to promote an in-house fight. That's because both fighters are currently under contract with the promotion.

Ruiz recently returned to action for the first time since his 2019 loss to Anthony Joshua. He outpointed Chris Arreola in May, and he’d definitely offer Deontay Wilder a very tricky test indeed.

As boxing fans have probably not forgotten, ‘The Destroyer’ was responsible for one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight boxing history in June 2019 when he knocked out Joshua to win the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles.

Despite losing them back to the British fighter in a rematch, he remains one of the heavyweight division’s most recognisable names right now. That means it’d be easy to sell a fight between him and Wilder.

More to the point, it’d also be easy to market such a fight, as Ruiz has still never been knocked out in the ring. That means the obvious question would be whether his iron chin could hold up under the power of one of boxing’s heaviest ever punchers in ‘The Bronze Bomber’.

Essentially, if Deontay Wilder wants a tough return fight, this would work perfectly.

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#1. Deontay Wilder vs. Anthony Joshua or Oleksandr Usyk

Could Deontay Wilder fight either Oleksandr Usyk or Anthony Joshua in the near future?

While it might not be the smartest fight for Deontay Wilder to take coming off back-to-back knockout losses, the fight that’d almost certainly be the biggest would be a clash with either Anthony Joshua or Oleksandr Usyk.

The two heavyweight superstars famously clashed just weeks before Wilder’s own bout with Tyson Fury, with Usyk largely outclassing Joshua en route to a unanimous decision victory. The win saw ‘The Cat’ claim Joshua’s WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles.

To nobody’s surprise, Joshua has since triggered a rematch clause in his contract – meaning that according to promoter Eddie Hearn, he’ll do battle with Usyk again in early 2022.

Once that fight is in the books, though, could either man face off with Deontay Wilder?

In a lot of ways, it’d probably make sense for the loser to do so. It’s likely that the winner will book a date with Tyson Fury – assuming he still holds the WBC heavyweight title at that point.

That leaves the loser with no obvious opponent outside of Wilder. So a fight between them and ‘The Bronze Bomber’ would probably settle who deserves to be recognised as the third-best heavyweight of the generation.

However, there’s every chance that Fury may decide to retire from boxing altogether if he defeats Dillian Whyte or Otto Wallin, meaning Wilder could end up facing off with the Joshua vs. Usyk winner instead.

Regardless of whether he were to face Joshua or Usyk, this would be a huge fight for Deontay Wilder, and would definitely be one that fans would pay plenty of money to see.