The Bronze Bomber is back, but judging by what we saw in the ring at the Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, his ambitions of reclaiming a heavyweight world title seem rather unrealistic. Deontay Wilder won by technical knockout in the seventh round, defeating fellow American Tyrrell Anthony Herndon and bouncing back after heavy losses to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang. Nevertheless, the American heavyweight appeared clearly in decline and is unlikely to achieve any further major accolades.
It was already clear before the fight that Herndon had been chosen specifically to make Wilder look good, allowing him to win without significant risk: a quick look at the 37-year-old San Antonio native’s record was enough to realize he posed no real threat. His approach to the fight was exactly what one would expect: in the first three minutes, Herndon minimized his offensive output and stayed at a safe distance from his opponent.
When, during the second round, the underdog finally tried to make himself noticed, the decision backfired. Rushing forward recklessly, Herndon ran into a left hook from the Bronze Bomber and hit the canvas. The punch, to be fair, wasn’t particularly powerful—more like a slap than a cleanly landed shot—but it was enough to score a knockdown as it caught Herndon by surprise while he was coming in.
For several rounds, Wilder appeared more composed than in previous outings, relying frequently on his left jab and not rushing his attacks. While this approach allowed him to win rounds clearly, it didn’t make him particularly dangerous.
Looking to make a statement and boost his status as a contender in the heavyweight division, the Bronze Bomber began throwing with more force, trying to create an opening for his infamous right hand—the punch that made him famous and had often paved the way to victory in the past.
However, the result of this increased intensity was far from impressive. Wilder fell back into old habits, throwing wide, looping shots, losing his balance awkwardly, and abandoning the composure that had been a pleasant surprise in the early rounds. Worse still, his trademark right hand—once lightning-fast and lethal—now moved with frustrating slowness.
Despite this, the Bronze Bomber’s wild attacks were enough to trouble Herndon, whose stamina was far from solid. The Texan fighter began to run out of gas after five rounds and struggled mightily to cope with the pressure, repeatedly clinching and dangerously lowering his head whenever he was trapped against the ropes.
Herndon’s fatigue became so severe that even standing upright proved difficult: more than once he lost his footing without even taking a clean punch, and in one such instance in the sixth round, referee Ray Corona issued him a count.
The inevitable end came in the seventh round, when the referee compassionately stepped in to stop a clearly exhausted Herndon after he was rocked by a right hand from Wilder that sent him stumbling backward toward the ropes. Herndon protested the stoppage, but in this writer’s view, it was a justified call.
Those who believe in the old saying that power is the last thing to leave a fighter would do well to watch this bout and start asking questions. Wilder’s once-lethal danger—what made him a feared and respected heavyweight despite his technical flaws—now seems to have all but vanished, as the explosive speed with which he used to unleash his right hand has faded with time.
Today, the Bronze Bomber still boasts an enviable physique, but without his most dangerous weapon, the many gaps in his technical skillset are likely to prove decisive against quality opposition. This version of Wilder would struggle immensely against any top-20 heavyweight in the world, and the best he might hope for at this twilight stage of his career is one last big payday.
In that sense, a fight between Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua could still make some sense. Of course, it would come well past its prime, with both men clearly on the downward slope of their careers. And naturally, the final outcome would leave plenty of fans wondering how things might have gone had the bout taken place a few years earlier. But we’d be willing to bet that the event could still generate a fair amount of buzz among boxing fans today.