RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - MAY 31: Deontay Wilder Of Team Matchroom weighs in on May 31, 2024 in Riyadh, ... More Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images) Getty Images “This is the return of Deontay Wilder—mentally, physically, and emotionally.” That’s what the former WBC heavyweight champion and one of the fiercest KO punchers in combat sports told me during an exclusive interview last week. Wilder is set to take on little-known Tyrrell Herndon on June 27 at Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas. The fight is available via pay-per-view via iN DEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH, Bell TV, Rogers, fubo, and PPV.com at $24.95. Additionally, it will be available for streaming via Digital PPV on BLKPrime.com. The event begins at 9 pm ET. Here’s a look at the main card. Deontay Wilder (43-4-1) vs. Tyrrell Herndon (24-5-0) - Heavyweight Deon Nicholson (21-1-0) vs. Devonte Williams (13-1-0) - Light Heavyweight Gustavo Trujillo (7-0-0) vs. Lateef Kayode (22-5-0) - Heavyweight Nico Hernandez (11-0-0) vs. Robert Ledesma (3-14-1) “I’m taking back my throne," Wilder insisted during our interview. "And at the end of the day, man, America needs me. They’re putting my logo out every night, waving it. We need our hero back. And I’m gonna answer the call, baby." Wilder is right. Heavyweight boxing isn’t quite the same without a strong champion or contender. As amazing as Oleksandr Usyk is and as promising as Daniel Dubois has looked during his rise to a title, their rematch is flying well under the radar. Their clash happens in less than a month, and almost no one is talking about it—at least not in the United States. Things will pick up a bit as we get closer to the fight, but if this fight were between Wilder and Anthony Joshua, Wilder and Tyson Fury—heck, even Wilder vs. Francis Ngannou—we’d be hearing and seeing the chatter. MORE FOR YOU As it is, Wilder will be trying to stop a two-fight skid and the worst stretch of his Hall-of-Fame career (four losses in his last five fights) against Herndon. It’s been nearly three years since Wilder won a fight. He viciously stopped Robert Helenius via first-round KO in October 2022. That win set up a potentially massive fight with Joshua. However, both Wilder and Joshua needed to defeat their opponents in December 2023 to make the fight come to fruition. Joshua kept up his end of the bargain with a stoppage of Otto Wallin. Wilder had a much tougher draw, as he lost a lopsided unanimous decision to Joseph Parker. Wilder was then stopped by Zhilei Zhang in June 2024, and many wondered if that was the last we’d see of the Bronze Bomber. Here he is, a year later and four months shy of his 40th birthday, ready to climb back into the ring and potentially into a massive payday. Again, he needs to win to put himself in that position. The assignment probably won’t be anywhere near as difficult this time. With all due respect to Herndon, 37, he is effectively a get-right opponent. What does that mean? Herndon is an opponent chosen by Wilder’s team to help him ramp back up toward good competition, and he’s someone the former champion should be able to look good against. Herndon has a pro record of 24-5 with 15 KOs, and he’s been stopped four times. If that record doesn’t read 24-6 with five KO losses by Saturday morning, the world will be shocked. Be on the lookout for my post-fight piece. Editorial StandardsReprints & Permissions