Formerly one of the most dreaded pumpers on the planet, Deontay Wilder heads for Friday’s fight with Tyrrell Herndon needing to find an offensive spark.
Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KB) lost four of his last five trips to the ring, but the last two fights were particularly disturbing. Wilder was apathetic by losing a large decision of 12 laps against Joseph Parker, coming only 39 of the 204 strokes launched. Things still worsened against Zhilei Zhang, when Wilder landed only 16 of the 95 punches launched before undergoing a brutal fifth round.
Wilder remained undefeated during the first 43 episodes of his professional career, including 41 victories with direct elimination, with the draw of December 2018 controversial for Tyson Fury in a fight that the most of Fury deserved to win. Fury would prove to be the best man when he won their revenge match in February 2020 by TKO during Tour 7 and their trilogy fight in October 2021 by KO during Tour 11.
These are the first defeats of Wilder’s career and also ended his long race (10 defenses) as WBC heavyweight champion.
On paper, Herndon (24-5, 15 KB) is a perfect “Get Right” opponent for Wilder. Herndon’s record seems decent, but his victories came against an opposition less than impressive. In his two most recent fights, Herndon had to be satisfied with victories in shared decision against fighters who scored records 8-9 and 7-0-1.
Herndon was also arrested four times, with these four stops before the end of the third round.
This fight is the first of a three -combinations agreement between Wilder and Nelson Lopez Jr., a contribution who previously worked with Golden Boy Promotions and Boxing Champions. The objective is that Wilder obtains three victories during this agreement in the hope of setting up a confrontation with Anthony Joshua, a dream fight that never materialized while the fighters were at the top of their powers.
“We have obtained a provisional affair and we are just one by one,” Lopez told Sunsport. “We have the next configuration, this one, nothing solid for the third – you know how much boxing is, there is no way on how you succeed. We must overcome this, so anything can happen. We have to pass the next one.
Wilder vs Herndon combat card, dimensions
- Deontay Wilder -2500 against Tyrrell Herndon +1100, heavy goods vehicles
- DEON Nicholson vs Devonte Williams, light heavy goods vehicles
- Marco Romero against Andre Amaro, super average weight
- Jorge Carlos against Jay Krupp, Welter Juniors Weight
- John Cantrell against Franklin Sparks, heavy goods vehicles
Where to watch Wilder against Herndon
- Date: June 27 | Location: Wichita, Kansas
- Start time: 9 p.m. He (Ringwalks around 11 p.m.)
- Flow: FUBO (Try free) | PPV price: $ 24.99
Prediction
Herndon was chosen as a return to Wilder for very clear reasons, the summit of which is likely that it is simply not very good. Herndon is also a very stopable opponent. It was with notable names and was beaten in each of these fights. Herndon was arrested by EFE Ajagba in a tour in the professional beginnings of Ajagba, lost by disqualification against Brandon Glanton and was also arrested in two rounds by Richard Torrez Jr. He was also arrested in the first round by Corey Barlow, who holds a record of 3-7-2.
Wilder does not need to be at his best to beat a fighter like Herndon, he just needs to punch. The biggest concerns for Wilder are that he has not launched almost enough punches in his two most recent outings and that he suffered big blows and Knockouts in his last five fights. These are probably concerns that come into play against a better opponent than Herndon. Pick: Deontay Wilder via Ko1
