By Luke Furman

Polish heavyweight contender Artur Szpilka  (20-2, 15 KOs) has undergone a successful operation on his injured left hand. The boxer will now go through a rehabilitation period before slowing working up his hand and then returning to action.

Last month Szpilka was involved in the biggest fight of his career. He fought WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Szpilka, under the instructions of his trainer Ronnie Shields, made things very difficult for Wilder in the early going. Wilder began to adjust in the second half and then caught Szpilka coming in with a huge shot in the ninth round, and Szpilka was knocked down and out cold. The fight was stopped immediately and Szpilka was placed on a stretcher. He went to the hospital afterwards as a safety precaution.

The hand injury was revealed during his overnight stay at the hospital. Szpilka wants rebuild himself and then his target is a world title fight with IBF champion Charles Martin, who was given a period of one year to make voluntary defenses. 

Martin captured his title on the same card as Wilder-Szpilka. He stopped Czar Glazkov in three rounds to pick up the belt which the IBF stripped away from Tyson Fury for failure to comply with a mandatory world title defense.

The boxer is advised by Al Haymon and promoted in the United States by Warriors Boxing.

"I would like to rebuild a little bit and then I'm dreaming of a fight with Charles Martin," Szpilka said.