Deontay Wilder wins his first fight in three years with stoppage of Tyrrell Herndon in comeback bout

After stepping into the ring for the first time in more than a year, former world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder secured his first win since 2022.

Wilder, who had previously hinted at retirement, announced back in March that he was set to stage a comeback fight in Kansas against fellow countryman Tyrrell Herndon.

The Alabama native had lost four of his previous five bouts but he returned to winning ways with a seventh-round stoppage to keep alive his faint hopes of bigger fights against bigger names in the heavyweight division. 

On Friday night, Herndon went down in the second round and then again in round six before the referee called off the fight, which was held at the Charles Koch Arena in Wichita.

In that final round, 'The Bronze Bomber' landed a series of right hands before Ray Corona stepped in to prevent any further damage.

For Wilder, the former WBC heavyweight champion, this marks his first win since October of 2022 - when he knocked out Robert Helenius in the first round at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. 

That victory over Helenius was his lone win in five fights preceding this bout in Kansas. 

Wilder had lost back-to-back title fights against Tyson Fury prior to his October 2022 win. He then was beaten by Joseph Parker in 2023, before losing to Zhilei Zhang in June 2024.

After the Zhang loss, Wilder reportedly considered hanging up his gloves, having amassed a record of 43 wins, four losses, and a famous draw in his first matchup against Fury in 2018.

But with a 44th victory under his belt, the 39-year-old has kept himself in the hunt for more big fights.