Deontay Wilder’s to fight Tyrrell Herndon as ‘idols become rivals’

The former heavyweight champion will aim to bounce back from his knockout by Zhilei Zhang

Deontay Wilder will return to the ring in June, fighting Tyrrell Herndon in Kansas, it has been confirmed.

Wilder last fought in June, when he suffered a brutal knockout defeat by Zhilei Zhang. The Chinese heavyweight dropped and stopped Wilder in round five, as the American fell to a second straight loss in Saudi Arabia.

In his previous fight, Wilder was outpointed by Joseph Parker in December 2023, and he is tasked with getting back to winning ways on 27 June in Wichita.

It is there that the former world champion, 39, will box Herndon, who has dreamed of this match-up for years.

In 2019, Herndon shared a photo of himself and Wilder on Instagram, with the caption: “Manifesting Idols become rivals eventually.....”

Herndon, 37, has a professional record of 24-5 with 15 knockout wins. The American will enter his bout against Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) on a three-fight win streak, having last fought in May, when he beating Rudy Silvas by split decision.

Meanwhile, Wilder’s back-to-back losses followed a 2022 knockout win over Robert Helenius, which saw the “Bronze Bomber” rebound from two straight losses to Tyson Fury.

Wilder, who fought Fury to a controversial draw in 2018, was stopped by the Briton in their 2020 rematch and 2021 trilogy fight, as Fury claimed and retained the WBC belt.