By: Sean Crose
It had been a long time since Deontay Wilder had been on top of the boxing world. While the incredibly hard-hitting American had certainly made a good career for himself, winning titles as well as accolades, Tyson Fury took the man’s crown and won two out of three in a classic trilogy. Wilder then went on to lose to such opponents as Joseph Parker and Zhilei Xhang. On Friday night, however, the former WBC World heavyweight champion was determined to come back. The truth was that the fighter known as the Bronze Bomber couldn’t afford another loss. He had lost far more than he had won in recent years, and it had been over a year since he had last entered a boxing ring.
Tyrell Herndon would be Wilder’s opponent on Friday, which meant he had a chance to really make his mark on the heavyweight division. Their pay-per-view main event was scheduled for 10 heavyweight rounds. Despite the fact that Wilder was able to drop his man in the second, it was noticeable that this was not a prime version of the former heavyweight kingpin. Indeed, Herndon was able to beat the count by getting back to his feet. Yet Wilder proved he still had his tremendous power.
Wilder put Herndon down again in the sixth, While it was true Herndon was being outhit and outclassed, he was willing to put it all on the line. Still, credit must go to where it’s due and Wilder did indeed pull out the win when the referee stopped the proceedings in the seventh. Wilder may have looked a bit slower than he once did, but his final barrage of punches once again showed the man had thunder in his gloved fists. For that reason alone, the man cannot be written off.