RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – MAY 29: Deontay Wilder of Team Matchroom gestures during the Queensbury v … More
Former WBC heavyweight boxing champion Deontay Wilder makes his return to the ring on Friday, June 27, when he faces Tyrrell Herndon in a scheduled 10-round affair at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas. The event is going by “Legacy Reloaded” and will stream on BLK Prime.
The 39-year-old Wilder has not fought since June 1, 2024, when Zhilei Zhang stopped him via TKO in the fifth round of a matchup at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The loss dropped Wilder to 43-4-1 and put his five-fight record at 1-4.
Wilder was 42-0-1 when he put his WBC heavyweight title on the line in a rematch against Tyson Fury in February 2020. Fury scored a seventh-round KO in that matchup. The two met in a trilogy bout in October 2021. That fight lasted until the 11th round but ended in the same manner, with Fury earning a TKO.
A year later, Wilder scored a first-round knockout win over Robert Helenius in Brooklyn. However, Wilder’s next two outings ended in losses. He fell to Joseph Parker by decision in December 2023 and followed that with the loss to Zhang.
Wilder’s run as WBC champ lasted from 2015 through 2020. He defended his crown 10 times before the loss to Fury. The two had met for the first time in December 2018, with that fight ending in a split draw.
Deontay Wilder Dismisses Retirement Talk
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – JUNE 01: Deontay Wilder of Team Matchroom is knocked down by Zhilei Zhang of … More
Wilder left the ring after the loss to Zhang, a fight he called a “must win” without an in-ring interview or a post-fight media appearance. Some speculated that he would retire from the sport. However, Wilder dismissed that talk in April of this year.
“There were never any retirement questions in my mind whatsoever, because I couldn’t understand what was going on with me at this moment in time and pinpoint why certain things were happening,” Wilder said.
“After the Zhang fight, I finally realized what was going on with me and I immediately took action. I called Shelly, who is my manager, I said ‘Shelly, I know what it is now’, we shared some deep thoughts that night and I immediately got help for it.
“In my mind, retirement was never there because I knew I wasn’t finished.”
Deontay Wilder On Tyrrell Herndon Fight
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – MAY 30: Deontay Wilder of Team Matchroom looks on during the Queensbury v … More
“I feel like a different person,” Wilder recently told Ariel Helwani.
“This Deontay Wilder, he’s more at peace, mentally, physically and emotionally. A lot of things that I was doing, I did for others. I was selfless. I took care of a lot of people. You can only do so much for so many people, and at certain times, you can do it for a certain length of time where it’s really not [appreciated]. But you don’t really understand anything until time passes, until situations happen, and you start lingering around and you start noticing certain things, and you start understanding things. And then you realize, it’s time to let certain things go.
“At this moment in time, I’m selfish. … It’s all about me having fun and going there and just having a great time. And that’s the difference — I feel more free. When you do it for yourself, you ain’t worried about letting anyone down, you ain’t worried about making mistakes, you ain’t worried about anything.
“If anyone has dealt with betrayal, you understand the feeling of it,” Wilder continued. “You understand the pain that comes behind it, especially when you have done stuff for so many people. You took people to places where they never would have been without you in their lives, or present at any given time. And then when they betray you, it’s like a dagger in your heart. I tell people it’s 10 times worse than a heartbreak. But for me, it’s just been a domino effect. Year after year after year.”
“I’ve never thought about giving up, I never thought about quitting,” Wilder said. “I never thought about retiring. These are all rumors and stuff, and [this is what I’m] saying — people don’t know [anything]. Most people want to be first [rather] than be correct. We are living in a world today where you want to put everything out on social media to get clicks and likes to make some money.”
“I want [people] to say that I [never gave] up at all,” Wilder added. “I got up on these bended knees and I got up … and got myself back out there, each and every time, because I wasn’t satisfied with the last performance or the last thing I’ve done. In my life, I always feel like there’s more to do in this world. No matter what I’ve obtained or what I may have in life, I still feel like there’s more to do.”
Wilder is ranked No. 12 by the WBC. His opponent on June 27, the 37-year-old Tyrrell Herndon (24-5-0 with 15 KOs) is unranked. Herndon is coming off a May 3, 2024, six-round split-decision win over Rudy Silvas (7-1-1).
