After stepping into the ring for the first time in more than a year, former world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder secured his first win since 2022.
Wilder, who had previously hinted at retirement, announced back in March that he was set to stage a comeback fight in Kansas against fellow countryman Tyrrell Herndon.
The Alabama native had lost four of his previous five bouts but he returned to winning ways with a seventh-round stoppage to keep alive his faint hopes of bigger fights against bigger names in the heavyweight division.
Friday’s main card fight in an event held at the Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, was stopped in the seventh round.
In that final round, ‘The Bronze Bomber’ connected on a left hook early before dropping Herndon to a knee with no count.
Wilder continued to dominate throughout the round – with Herndon eating punch after punch until referee Ray Corona stepped in to prevent any further damage.
Deontay Wilder won his first boxing bout since 2022 in a comeback fight on Friday night
Wilder beat fellow American Tyrrell Herndon in the seventh round after a referee stoppage
It’s the first victory Wilder had since knocking out Robert Helenius in Brooklyn in October 2022
For Wilder, the former WBC heavyweight champion, this marks his first win since October of 2022 – when he knocked out Finnish fighter Robert Helenius in the first round of a bout at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
That victory over Helenius was the lone win in his five fights preceding the contest in Kansas.
Wilder had lost back-to-back title fights against Tyson Fury prior to his October 2022 win and then was beaten by Joseph Parker in a 2023 title fight, followed by Zhilei Zhang in 2024.
After the Zhang loss, Wilder reportedly considered hanging up the gloves after accumulating a record of 43 wins, four losses, and a famous draw in his first matchup against Fury in 2018.
But with a 44th victory under his belt, it’s unclear what the 39-year-old has his sights set on next.
