DEONTAY Wilder scored a knockout victory for the first time since October 2022, stopping Tyrrell Herndon in round seven of their main event at the Charles Koch Arena, Wichita, last night.
As Wilder himself later admitted, it wasn’t quite the explosive finish of old, but removing an overmatched Herndon at 2-16 of the seventh at least felt more like what we had been used to seeing from the ‘Bronze Bomber’.
Wilder started off patiently behind a stiff left jab, looking for openings for the same right hand that had destroyed so many opponents across the years. Seeking to emulate Joseph Parker’s outboxing of Wilder in Riyadh, Herndon was staying out of the way but not landing anything significant.
Wilder landed a significant counter left hook in round two that sent Herndon down for a count. Herndon got a little more ambitious in the fourth with his own left hook. Wilder got busy at the close of that session, much to the Kansas crowd’s delight.
Referee Ray Corona toiled to keep them apart in the clinches. Herndon attacked the body in the sixth as Wilder’s uppercut sneaked in from time to time. No doubt a distraction tool for the overhand right to come in behind.
Ducking low and clinging on for dear life, Herndon was left sitting on the ropes in round six for a second count. The Texas man took a brief voluntary knee in the seventh, complaining about Deontay’s rugged tactics. “It’s just a matter of time now,” commented Gabe Rosado on the broadcast.
He was right. Not in the manner we expected. Herndon shipped a cuffing right hand and Ray Corona jumped in as Tyrrell dipped into the ropes for the final time.
“I had a long time off, getting myself mentally, physically and emotionally back together,” said Wilder.
“It’s been a long road for me and I’m just glad to be back in the ring. I know I didn’t give them truly what they wanted to see [a devastating KO] but we’ll do that when we get going. This is a new beginning for me.”
After improving to 44-4-1 (43 KOs), Wilder wasn’t pressed on his next moves, although the commentary team suggested that a clash with Anthony Joshua remains on the table. Herndon fell to 24-6 (15 KOs), doing about as well as expected.
