Deontay Wilder has reportedly signed for his comeback fight, ending any speculation that the 39-year-old will hang up the gloves.
Once a long-reigning WBC Heavyweight World Champion known for knocking out all comers, Wilder met his match in Tyson Fury. The pair first fought to a controversial draw before the Brit stamped his authority on the rematch with a stoppage to serve Wilder the first loss of his career. Though more competitive in the trilogy bout, the American met the same fate and stepped away from the sport for a year.
A one round demolition of Robert Helenius was a good reminder of Wilder’s abilities, however he failed to capitalise and went through another bout of inactivity before returning against, and losing to, Joseph Parker. Ahead of his next fight with Zhilei Zhang, the big hitter from Alabama said retirement would be considered if he lost. He was knocked out in five rounds.
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Despite that, Wilder will fight on and it was recently announced that he would take his show to the BLK Prime platform for an April bout. Heavyweight journeyman Curtis Harper told the Ring Magazine that he had signed his end of the deal and Boxing Scene now reports ‘The Bronze Bomber’ has now put pen to paper to make for the fight, slated for April 26 in Atlanta.
Harper is 18-11 in his pro campaign with losses to the likes of Zhang, Bakhodir Jalolov and Guido Vianello. He made headlines back in 2018 for being immediately disqualified from his bout with Efe Ajagba when he exited the ring upon the first bell. What looked like was a lack of will to fight, he later explained, was a financial protest. The fight should be made official in the coming days.
Wilder will enter the ring the heaviest of favourites hoping to rediscover the killer instinct that made him famous. If he does, there will likely be one last crack at the top level.
