According to ESPN’s Mike Coppinger, former heavyweight titleholder Deontay Wilder will climb back into the ring on June 27, taking on Tyrrell Herndon in a 10-round bout — not in Vegas, not at MSG, not even in Alabama — but in Wichita, Kansas.
Yes, Wichita. Because when your last win was over a year ago and you’ve been knocked senseless in two straight outings, naturally the comeback starts in the Midwest, on a Friday night, against a guy whose biggest claim to fame is getting flattened by Richard Torrez Jr.
Let’s Talk About the “Road Back”
Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) has won just one of his last five. He was defeated by Joseph Parker and absolutely detonated by Zhilei Zhang — two fights that looked less like boxing and more like one-sided demolition jobs.
Still, promoters Nelson Lopez and Joshua Chasse are spinning the wheel of optimism. Chasse said to ESPN:
“This is Wilder’s legacy reloaded. He’s still one of the hardest punchers in boxing. He’s on the road back to becoming the heavyweight champion of the world, and this is the first step.”
Nothing screams “return to the top” quite like facing a 37-year-old journeyman with five losses — three of them to fighters you’ve probably never heard of. Herndon (24-5, 15 KOs) just barely scraped by in a six-round split decision last time out. Before that, he was folded in two by an Olympian still getting his feet wet.
Legacy Reloaded… or Recycled?
It’s a strange thing to call this “legacy” anything. Wilder’s trilogy with Tyson Fury was certainly memorable — if your memory starts and ends with “getting dropped.” He didn’t win any of the three fights (0-2-1), but sure, he knocked Fury down four times total. Unfortunately, he was also stopped twice, most recently in Round 11.
Since then, Wilder’s mystique has worn thin. The power’s still there, but the fear factor? Gone. The aura? Gone. The matchmaking? Apparently outsourced to a Kansas bingo hall.
This isn’t about climbing back to a title. It’s about staying active, maybe cashing a check, and seeing if there’s anything left in the tank without getting hit by someone dangerous.
Could Wilder spark Herndon in one round? Absolutely.
Will it tell us anything new about his future? Absolutely not.
This isn’t a comeback. It’s a career extension. Maybe a confidence booster. Maybe a local event for ticket sales.
But “legacy”? That ship has already sailed — and it hit the iceberg back in the third Fury fight.
Wilder might still punch hard. But power doesn’t erase four years of decline. And one night in Kansas won’t convince anyone he’s back.
Just don’t call it a comeback. Not yet.
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