American former WBC heavyweight (200+ lbs) champion Deontay Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KO’s) is set to make his in-ring return after last year’s June 1st battle against Chinese heavyweight Zhilei Zhang which resulted in a stoppage loss for Wilder. Fighting for the Global Combat Collective (GCC) promotion, the “Bronze Bomber” has already been scheduled against the unheralded contender Tyrrell Anthony Herndon (24-5, 15 KO’s). The two will duke it out on June 27th, at the Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas.
Herndon, 37, notably holds several fights against other well-known heavyweights including rising heavyweight contender Richard Torrez Jr. (12-0, 11 KO’s), Efe Ajagba (20-1, 14 KO’s) and cruiserweight (200 lbs) contender Brandon Glanton (20-2, 17 KO’s), though Herndon was knocked out against the former two while he suffered a disqualification loss against the latter.
As far as opponents for Deontay Wilder go, Herndon appears to be far from a contending position despite currently being on a three-match winning streak. Notably, half of Herndon’s fights were against opponents with a losing record, two were against fighters with even records [win-to-lose ratio] and five opponents he faced were debutants in the sport; making Tyrrell Herndon vastly inexperienced given he’s only faced five opponents with a winning record thus far.
With Wilder’s upcoming match clearly designated as a tune-up match, it further lends credence to the belief that Wilder’s own resume pales in comparison to other contemporary heavyweights ― something Deontay Wilder ironically accused Anthony Joshua of having.
The choice as Herndon as an opponent for Deontay Wilder, when compared to when Anthony Joshua (28-4, 25 KO’s) returned against American contender Jermaine Franklin after suffering two back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk (23-0, 14 KO’s), further establishes Wilder’s lack of confidence. Whereas Franklin (23-2, 15 KO’s) had been accomplished in the amateurs and was on the verge becoming a genuine contender in the pro ranks, Herndon lacks both the potential and the age to land a significant spot in any of the heavyweight rankings.
The announcement of the upcoming Wilder-Herndon bout further puts to bed all rumors of Deontay Wilder fighting on BLK Prime against countryman Curtis Harper.
