Former WBC heavyweight titleholder Deontay Wilder is set to return to the ring on June 27 in an unexpected location Wichita, Kansas. According to ESPN’s Mike Coppinger, Wilder will face 37-year-old journeyman Tyrrell Herndon in a 10-round bout, marking the Bronze Bomber’s first fight since being knocked out twice in a row and scoring just one victory in his last five outings.
Promoters Nelson Lopez and Joshua Chasse are touting this as the start of Wilder’s “road back” to heavyweight glory, insisting he remains one of boxing’s hardest punchers. Skeptics, however, see a safer comeback route designed to rebuild the former champion’s confidence after punishing losses to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang. With Herndon’s track record including five defeats and a recent narrow split-decision win, the fight is widely viewed as little more than a tune-up.
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Once a fearsome KO artist, Wilder saw his aura fade through three bruising Tyson Fury encounters, capped by an 11th-round stoppage. While his power remains, his mystique seems diminished, and a low-risk contest in Kansas may do little to revive the excitement he once commanded at heavyweight. Instead, we are left to wonder if this signals the beginning of a true resurgence - or merely another step toward the final act of an embattled career.
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