Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn has warned that vanquished former WBC champion Deontay Wilder will have to be careful that he does not slip up if he faces Charles Martin.
Wilder has been struggling to come to terms with his defeat to Tyson Fury this time last year, and has levelled accusations of cheating at the new belt holder as well as suggesting his former coach Mark Breland sabotaged him.
Breland this week hit back at his former charge and deemed him "untrainable," and he now appears finally ready to get back in the ring. A proposed rematch with Fury appears dead after Fury deemed any contract between the pair to have expired, and any solution decided by arbitration appears likely to be settled with compensation rather than an enforced bout. Fury’s next bout is due to be a double fight with Anthony Joshua.
Hearn believes Wilder has gone off the rails to such an extent that 34-year-old Martin, who lost his IBF title to Joshua in 2016, is a credible threat to the Bronze Bomber should they meet in the ring. Wilder and his team likely see Martin as an easy win to guide him back into action.
Speaking to IFL TV, Hearn questioned Wilder’s mental state and his chances of beating Martin.
“Not giving interviews to traditional media like major outlets, and then he just pops up on some random thing,” he said.
“That’s a good fight, Charles Martin can fight,” said Hearn when told that Martin is one of the options for Wilder’s next fight.
“I know AJ cleaned him out in two rounds, but it was a great performance. Charles Martin can fight. Still, it was a good fight then, and it’s a good fight now. Charles Martin might beat Deontay Wilder,” said Hearn.
The Matchroom promoter understood where Breland was coming from in his riposte to his former fighter, and underlined just how fierce the criticism was.
Hearn explained: “He’s probably extremely p—d off that he hasn’t been able to have his say, and when he got the chance to speak, he basically said, ‘Wilder doesn’t train.’
“He said Wilder can’t box, he has no jab, he’s never beaten anyone, and he’s never beating Fury.”