After a sharp boxing decline in recent years, former WBC heavyweight champion, Deontay Wilder, has been absent from the ring, but that wait is over.
“The Bronze Bomber” plans to do something that not even Jake Paul has managed, as he hopes to return to action on June 27 against Tyrell Anthony Herndon at Wichita’s Charles Koch Arena with high hopes.
Wilder could then face the former MMA heavyweight world champion Francis Ngannou.
Both have been linked because of their status as the strongest punchers in boxing and MMA. While Wilder returns to the ring with the dream of a world championship, he ended up revealing plans for the possible mega fight against Ngannou.
“There are a lot of things at stake. I think that fight is still brewing, we’re still talking about it,” Wilder told James Sweetnam of Bloody Elbow. “We’re just trying to define the structure of the fight because certain things have already been set, or I’ve even expressed my views.”
It should be noted that Paul has already signed with the PFL, but has yet to venture into MMA fighting.
The decline in Deontay Wilder’s career
Wilder suffered back-to-back defeats to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang in 2023 and 2024, which led many to urge the heavyweight to retire, while Ngannou made his boxing debut in 2023 against Tyson Fury, losing the closely contested fight.
However, his second fight ended in a brutal second-round knockout against Anthony Joshua. Since then, he has not returned to the ring; instead, he returned to MMA and defeated 2023 heavyweight champion Renan Ferreira to become the PFL Super Fights heavyweight champion.
Wilder is then eyeing one last fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship as he prepares to face Tyrell Anthony Herndon in June, but the 39-year-old former champion does not consider it a comeback.
“It’s never a comeback. It’s always just coming back from the ring,” said Wilder, who boasts a 43-4-1 (42 KOs) record, and still believes that one win can change everything: “One fight, one night.”
Wilder doesn’t mention names, but focuses on anyone who stands in his way. “If you get in my way, I want you. I want to rip your head off,” he said.
He acknowledged Oleksandr Usyk as the current champion: “I mean, he’s the one who has the belts. So, you know, whether you agree or not,” and said he is confident that, with the right opportunity, he will finally be able to achieve his desire to become undisputed champion.
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