RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – DECEMBER 23: Deontay Wilder looks on during the WBC International & WBO … More
Deontay Wilder looks to get his boxing career back on track on Friday when he faces Tyrrell Herndon in a scheduled 10-round bout at Charles Koch Arena on the campus of Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas. Wilder, who is coming off two straight losses, sees this week’s fight as a return and not a comeback.
Deontay Wilder Vs. Tyrrell Herndon
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.
Herndon is coming off a May 3, 2024, six-round split-decision win over Rudy Silvas (7-1-1).
Wilder is ranked No. 12 by the WBC. Herndon is unranked.
Deontay Wilder Vs. Tyrrell Herndon Opening Betting Odds And Line Movement
When the betting line opened for the Wilder vs. Herndon matchup, Wilder was a -300 favorite over the +890 Herndon. Today those odds have narrowed, but Wilder remains a substantial betting favorite at -1667. Herndon comes in as the +620 betting underdog.
Deontay Wilder Not A Comeback
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – MAY 29: Deontay Wilder of Team Matchroom gestures during the Queensbury v … More
It’s just a return,” Wilder said. “It’s not a comeback.
“It’s a comeback when you retire and then you come back. You feel me? The terminology is always wrong. I say [it] when people use the wrong terminology all the time. They think when someone has left the ring for a significant amount of time and then they return, they feel like it’s a comeback, but it’s never a comeback. It’s always just returning from the ring. You leave the ring and you return to it. And in this business, you need those gaps. A lot of the fighters that started to fight when they was five, six years old, seven, eight, even nine, I understand how burnt out they get at a certain time, and they must leave and then come back.”
Deontay Wilder Vs. Tyrrell Herndon Full Fight Card
Deontay Wilder (43-4-1) vs. Tyrrell Herndon (24-5-0) – Heavyweight – 10 Rounds
Deon Nicholson (21-1-0) vs. Devonte Williams (13-1-0) – Light Heavyweight – 10 Rounds
Gustavo Trujillo (7-0-0) vs. Lateef Kayode (22-5-0) – Heavyweight – 10 Rounds
Nico Hernandez (11-0-0) vs. Robert Ledesma (3-14-1) – Super Flyweight – Six Rounds
Jeff Page Jr (18-3-0) vs. Jurmain McDonald (8-9-0) – Cruiserweight – Six Rounds
Jorge Carlos (9-0-0) vs. Kerim Morkoc (4-2-1) – Super lightweight – Six Rounds
John Cantrell (13-0-0) vs. Franklin Sparks (4-4-0) -Heavyweight – Six Rounds
Eric Valencia (3-0-0) vs. Willie Harris (0-1-0) – Lightweight – Four Rounds
Joshua Richey (Debut) vs. Chancey Wilson (Debut) – Featherweight – Four Rounds
Kayla Williams (1-1-0) vs. Helen Lucero (0-4-0) – Lightweight – Four Rounds
Miguel Noah Aldana (3-0-0) vs. General Lee (Debut) – Lightweight – Four Rounds
*Via BoxRec.com
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.”
We will have more on the Deontay Wilder vs. Tyrell Herndon fight card as fight night nears.
