“It’s not a comeback”: After successive defeats, former boxing champ seeks redemption on return to ring

Some boxers fall and never get back up. Others return because they need the money. Deontay Wilder doesn’t fit into either of those narratives - or at least, that’s what he says.

This Saturday in Wichita, Kansas, the former WBC heavyweight champion steps back into the ring to face Tyrrell Anthony Herndon. It’s not a headline fight. It’s not a grand stage. It’s simply a night’s work. But it’s also a statement of intent: at 39, Wilder isn’t finished.

“It’s just a return. It’s not a comeback,” he told an interview with BoxingScene this weekend. “It’s a comeback when you retire and then you come back. You feel me? The terminology is always wrong.”

Out to avenge back-to-back defeats

Wilder hasn’t fought since June 2024, when he was knocked out by the Chinese giant Zhilei Zhang in just five rounds in Saudi Arabia. Before that, he lost by unanimous decision to Joseph Parker. That’s four losses in his last five fights. But it’s also a narrative he wants to overturn.

Wilder’s story, like many great boxing tales, begins in adversity. Hailing from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, he started boxing at 20. It wasn’t a dream; it was a necessity. His daughter, Naieya, was born with spina bifida and needed treatment. Wilder gave up his aspirations as a college football receiver and stepped into the ring. In just three years, he qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics and won a bronze medal for the United States.

Wilder established himself as one of the most feared fighters of the past decade. From 2015 to 2020, he reigned as the WBC world champion, defending his title time and again. His professional record: 43 wins, four losses and one draw, with 42 knockouts. An intimidating knockout percentage of 95%.

But Wilder’s has also been a career marked by the frustration of not unifying belts. Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury were the missing pieces of a dominance that never fully materialized.

The turning point was Fury. Their three fights between 2018 and 2021 left Wilder with just one draw to his name before things fell apart. In the trilogy, the American showed courage but also his limitations. Then came the silences, the surgeries, the financial betrayals he still laments, and the need to pause.

Bigger fight in the offing this year?

This isn’t about silencing the doubters or earning money, he tells BoxingScene. “For this very first time in my life, I get an opportunity to say, ‘I’m selfish. I’m doing it my way, on my terms, for me,’” he says.

The words resonate differently coming from someone accused of having an over-the-top personality. The man who once said he was “trying to get a body on my record,” now seems more introspective. Still with fire inside him, but not powered by the same combustible cocktail.

Wilder’s opponent, Tyrrell Herndon, isn’t an elite contender. He has a record of 21-5 (14 KOs) with few notable victories. He’s clearly a stepping stone. The event hasn’t generated much media attention either. But for Wilder, it’s about reactivating his body, shaking off the rust, and preparing for something bigger.

Wilder’s promoter, Shelly Finkel, has hinted that the boxer could fight a top opponent before the end of the year. Maybe a rematch with Zhang, perhaps one last shot at challenging one of the current champions. Wilder, once the heavyweight division’s great villain, knows the industry has a short memory. But he also knows knockouts refresh it.

In a sport that devours its own heroes, Wilder is giving himself a second chance. Not to save his legacy, but to honor his own journey.

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