Deontay Wilder hasn’t done enough in his career for promoter Eddie Hearn to place him among the top four heavyweights in the division. Hearn says the former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) hasn’t beaten the level of competition for him to belong with the elites.
Hearn lists these four heavyweights as cream of the crop in the division at this time:
- Tyson Fury
- Oleksandr Usyk
- Anthony Joshua
- Dillian Whyte
According to Hearn, Wilder’s only notable win is Luis Ortiz, which isn’t a great victory in his opinion. However, Hearn’s inclusion of Whyte (28-2, 19 KOs), who he promotes as part of his Matchroom Boxing stable, is a highly questionable one.
“Other than Ortiz, which isn’t even a standout win in my opinion, who has Wilder ever beaten? You can’t put Wilder in the bracket of Fury, Usyk, AJ, Whyte. You can’t. He doesn’t have the résumé,” said Hearn to iFL TV.
Usyk, Joshua, and Fury make sense, but you can’t say that Whyte has a better resume than Wilder. Whyte has lost twice, and the guys that he’s beaten have been largely lesser fighters or old-timers in their 40s.
Whyte’s best wins have come against these fighters:
- Derek Chisora – journeyman
- Alexander Povetkin – 41-years-old and coming off a bad case of COVID-19 when Whyte beat him
- Joseph Parker – a flawed former champion that had lost to Joshua in his previous fight
- Oscar Rivas
- Mariusz Wach – a 40-year-old journeyman
You can’t argue that Whyte rates a place within the top four over Wilder because he’s no one other than Povetkin, who was 41-years-old and coming off a really bad case of COVID-19 in late 2020.
Wilder held the WBC title from 2015 to 2020 and beat some good fighters along the way. His two victories over Luis Ortiz are better than any of the wins on Whyte’s resume, and until recently, better than any of Usyk’s wins at heavyweight.
Joshua’s recent defeat last Saturday night to Oleksandr Usyk makes it difficult to continue to include him as an elite top four heavyweight. That defeat was Joshua’s second in his last four fights since 2019.
In other words, Joshua’s resume since 2019 is 2-2 in his last four fights. I don’t know about you but can’t call a fighter a top-four guy in any weight class when they’ve lost 2 out of their last 4 fights the way Joshua has.
This is Jeeper Isaac’s top 10 heavyweight list:
1. Oleksandr Usyk
2. Tyson Fury
3. Deontay Wilder
4. Joe Joyce
5. Daniel Dubois
6. Dillian Whyte
7. Anthony Joshua
8. Frank Sanchez
9. Andy Ruiz Jr.
10. Jared Anderson
11. Tony Yoka
12. Filip Hrgovic
13. Efe Ajagba
14. Michael Hunter
15. Luis Ortiz
Joshua seems to be going downhill since his first fight with Andy Ruiz Jr. in 2019, and it doesn’t look like he’s going to find his way back to being the fighter he once was.
AJ has been through a lot of battles that have scarred him mentally, and as one writer put it, Joshua looks like a fighter that has “shell shock.” He’s gone through too much mentally from his loss to Ruiz, and it’s taken something away from him.
It would be great if you could shock Joshua back to what he was before by zapping his head, but that’s not possible. I think he’s shell-shocked in the clinical sense and he’s going to stay that way.
Joshua is not a boxer & it showed this last fight. He should return to his previous style…
Deontay Wilder is the wrong guy to be underestimating.
This world is full of a bunch of silly acting people, avoid them because they cause trouble for you. Eddie thought it was funny going around talking trash about Oleksandr Usyk and how Anthony Joshua was going to win easily and it cost millions. Make sure Anthony Joshua trains instead of talking smack and underestimating your opponent.
Can you imagine how scared of Deontay Wilder Tyson must have been that he would risk going to prison rather than fight Deontay Wilder?
As if mate. Get a grip. Fury beat him twice, even if the joke of the first fight was called a draw. Wilder was hoping he would pay him to step aside! Wilders a joke of a fighter!
Hearn is an absolute joke who’s just pissed off that his poster boy AJ lost. What a loser.
Yes, Eddie Hearn is clearly joking most of the time. He just wants press so he says things that are shocking.
This piece is pure opinion, Whyte is levels above Wilder to have him below Dubois and Joyce is a joke. Chisora is hardly a journeyman. Parker was a champ and the first guy to take Joshua all the way.
Yes max, Dillian Whyte is a very good fighter. Almost as good as Luis Ortiz.
White is not better then Wilder or Luiz that’s why duck both of them
I don’t know who the best is, but I’d rather watch Deontay Wilder knock a guys block off then watch Mayweather duck and dodge for 12 rounds. Deontay is pure entertainment, win or lose that’s why I pay to watch him every fight.
😊 of mice and men ” you damned right, you’re goddamned right.”
Eddie going way out of his way to attack Deontay Wilders legacy is an indication of fear. Why does Eddie Hearn dear Deontay Wilder?
However can Hearn Justify lashing out at an international level such an obviously childish claim?
Deontay Wilder has knocked out all of his opponents even fury who can’t beat him without loaded gloves padding removal and steroid use, so how is Deontay Wilder not still the belt holder?
Why isn’t Deontay Wilder offorded equal protection within the law?
Why aren’t these criminals stripped of the WBC belt, fined, and imprisoned?
Not only is Eddie Hearn delusional, but this promoter is shamelessly bias. Why should Deontay Wilder have to reach in his pocket to pay for something he didn’t do?
Anthony Joshua wasn’t taught head movement on eddies watch. It is he who has lost millions because of his unpreparedness and incompetence. So own up to it Eddie, you spoiled rich kid.
Is Eddie Hearn delusional?
Joe Joyce and Dubois over Joshua? …what? And Dillion whyte? So he’s saying they can beat Joshua because one of the most skilled boxers on earth did? Sounds like he’s the silly one not Hearn XD
Please cheat Deontay Wilder again. We want to see Usyk and fury
Then we all agree that Deontay Wilder is the best heavyweight champion that ever lived without question.
In America we have Jerry Springer, what you in the UK call a chat show host. Eddie Hearn reminds me of a chat show host. Eddie Hearn is the one who misadvised Anthony Joshua so much that it’s absurd.
Deontay Wilder number, of one Luis Ortiz is second,all the rest begin to cluster in groups.