BoxRec

Just saw this bit of news over on an AOL story. Says the opponent/challenger will be announced next week.
Wow. That's very short notice for a title shot, but opportunity & $$$ talks, so I'm sure they'll have no problem finding fighters willing to step in there.
But, said heavyweight will have to be in the 'BC ratings.
So, who do you think Haymon will get for Wilder's first defense?

http://www.fightnews.com/rankings-2

http://wbcboxing.com/wbceng/index.php/r ... dit&id=139

Here's their complete top 40 options, which gives Haymon a lot more options to go with. None of them very appealing like Derrick Rossy & Marcin Rekowski for instance, but then - I'm not really expecting any sort of a formidable opponent for this one. I'm pretty sure that a 'BC rating & a pulse are the only prerequisites.

My answer straight off the bat is Tony Thompson. Not far in height in comparison to Wilder standing at 6ft5, a Southpaw and is cagey and durable and holds a good WBC Ranking after pick the Conti Americas after beating that overweight and perennial underachiever Odlandier Solis.

will be Eric Molina

cold187 wrote:will be Eric Molina

That would be lame.

crusader wrote:

cold187 wrote:will be Eric Molina

That would be lame.

It is lame, which is why it will happen.

It has to be somebody in the top 15 WBC rankings. Knowing that Haymon always chooses the easiest option, the person I see in there that fits the bill is Eric Molina. The only other option is Chris Arreola. Haymon wouldn't risk Wilder against Thompson.

WBC Rankings:
1. Alexander Povetkin
2. Mike Perez
3. Tyson Fury
4. Vyacheslav Glazkov
5. Bermane Stiverne
6. Lucas Browne
7. Anthony Joshua
8. Andy Ruiz
9. Manuel Charr
10. Tony Thompson
11. Artur Szpilka
12. Eric Molina
13. Carlos Takam
14. Chris Arreola
15. Mark De Mori

I wouldn't be surprised if it's Thompson. He's had his moments, but he looked dreadful at times in widely losing to Takam and Pulev beat him handily as well. While he has some pop he's not what I'd consider a puncher and perhaps Wilder's team has more confidence in his chin given that he took some shots, though admittedly few clean ones, from Stiverne without many problems.

Szpilka isn't a puncher either and is in most top 15's largely off his decision over a shot Adamek, he went life and death with Mollo and was dropped in each of their fights, and he was clearly out of his depth against Jennings, so I'm not sure that he'd be seen as too risky either. Given that he's been down several times and stopped by a guy who isn't a big puncher, he could be the type of opponent who is likely to provide highlight-reel fodder.

Arreola is clearly shot in my view, was already stopped twice by the guy Wilder beat for the title, and struggled significantly with a clubfighter in his last bout, but he has a name and I can see him being the choice.

What about Lucas Brown? He's called Wilder out before and although he's the mandatory for the beatable Chagaev's WBA trinket I don't see why a big payday couldn't lure him away from that. He's got a good punch but he's also very limited skillwise and I doubt that Wilder would have many problems finding him.

crusader wrote: What about Lucas Brown? He's called Wilder out before and although he's the mandatory for the beatable Chagaev's WBA trinket I don't see why a big payday couldn't lure him away from that. He's got a good punch but he's also very limited skillwise and I doubt that Wilder would have many problems finding him.

Browne is going after Chagaev's WBA Regular Belt. Plus I doubt Haymon would risk Wilder against him.

It will likely be Eric Molina or Chris Arreola.

It won't be Browne or Thompson, they'll be seen by Haymon as too risky.

Later in the year, there's a good chance we'll see Wilder vs. Szpilka (a Haymon fighter).

klitoris wrote:It has to be somebody in the top 15 WBC rankings. Knowing that Haymon always chooses the easiest option, the person I see in there that fits the bill is Eric Molina. The only other option is Chris Arreola. Haymon wouldn't risk Wilder against Thompson.

WBC Rankings:
1. Alexander Povetkin
2. Mike Perez
3. Tyson Fury
4. Vyacheslav Glazkov
5. Bermane Stiverne
6. Lucas Browne
7. Anthony Joshua
8. Andy Ruiz
9. Manuel Charr
10. Tony Thompson
11. Artur Szpilka
12. Eric Molina
13. Carlos Takam
14. Chris Arreola
15. Mark De Mori

Rankings can change a lot between now and fight night... And could just as easily be someone moving from Cruiserweight...

Molina or De Mori would be the safe picks from the current top 15 though.

i bet its arreola .

i wouldnt mind seeing wilder destroy the boring and very over-rated glazkov

It wouldn't surprise me if Shannon Briggs suddenly got the #15 spot in the rankings and a date with Wilder.

Seeing Anthony Joshua that high on the list I find absurd as he is only 11 professional fights and defeated two former (and over the hill) British champions in Matt Skelton and Michael Sprott. Plus he has nOt even got the British title yet.

It's going to be a can whoever it is.

I'd like to see Wilder face Jennings down the road.

Yeah Eric Molina says he has the fight on his twitter account and Rafael says fight looks likely for June 13th. But Tony Thompson is still in the running.

I'd prefer it be Thompson, Molina is unworthy of a title shot. Despite Thompson's age, Molina is actually the easier opponent.

So he wins a title and assuming it's Molina goes right back to mediocre opposition, in this case a guy who couldn't last a round in his only fight with a top 20 opponent. Does his team not have confidence in him?

Deontay Wilder vs. Shannon Briggs! I'd love to see it!

Molina would be better for Szpilka since he's not good really enough for a title fight.

Thompson, Briggs (for a laugh) or Arreola would be okay for Wilder.

Can I just say at this point that I went to look up Mark De Mori & see how good he was following B-P's mention of him in this thread & now I cannot unsee the horror.

This man was entering his tenth year as a professional fighter in this bout, & is fighting a 40-something fat cruiserweight novice he outweighed by approximately two stone:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sk42vCVJGUU

Give Pagga ten years back & he'd've done him there. De Mori makes Bob Mirovic look like a young George Foreman.

Well Molina couldn't last a round with Arreola, so I wonder if he'll consider it a moral victory if he makes it to the second with Wilder.

klitoris wrote:It has to be somebody in the top 15 WBC rankings. Knowing that Haymon always chooses the easiest option, the person I see in there that fits the bill is Eric Molina. The only other option is Chris Arreola. Haymon wouldn't risk Wilder against Thompson.

WBC Rankings:
1. Alexander Povetkin
2. Mike Perez
3. Tyson Fury
4. Vyacheslav Glazkov
5. Bermane Stiverne
6. Lucas Browne
7. Anthony Joshua
8. Andy Ruiz
9. Manuel Charr
10. Tony Thompson
11. Artur Szpilka
12. Eric Molina
13. Carlos Takam
14. Chris Arreola
15. Mark De Mori

I am okay with Wilder fighting anyone on this list because a new champion is entitled to an easy 1st defense before taking on a real challenge. The safest pick would be De Mori ( although he can punch ), or Arreola who'd on a tail spin downward.

Best guess? Szpika, or Molina.