Deontay Wilder is planning for 2025 to be the first calendar year since 2019 when he will fight on more than one occasion.
It was announced March 28 that Wilder would return to the ring June 27 in a 10-round bout against Tyrrell Herndon at the Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas. Now Wilder has revealed to Uncrowned and DAZN's "Ariel x Ade" show that he has a second bout lined up as well.
"We've got two [fights] scheduled right now, for sure," Wilder revealed Tuesday. "We're looking to do another [fight] in December. I think this year is going to be filled with just making sure I'm back tuned up. I'm tuning myself up, making sure I'm where I say I am."
Wilder has boxed outside of North America just three times. In 2013, he ventured to Sheffield, England, to knock out the 2000 Olympic gold medalist Audley Harrison in the opening round. His last two fights ended in defeat in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang.
The former WBC heavyweight champion hopes to change that international losing streak in December in a unique location for a boxing event.
"We're going to be out of the country," Wilder said about his December fight. "Somewhere in Korea, South Korea."
Tyson Fury's retirement from the sport following back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk has left a void in the heavyweight division. A fight between Fury and Anthony Joshua had been building up for almost a decade, but now it appears that we may never see that fight.
Another clash boxing fans had hoped to see for many years was Wilder vs. Joshua, and with Fury supposedly bowing out of the sport, the matchup makes even more sense now. But Wilder has insisted that his comeback is not centered around any specific opponent.
"I'm like any other boxing fan, I just want the best fights possible," Wilder insisted.
"I'm not looking for any particular [fight], but I want the best of the best. Whoever's the best in the division, that's who I want.
"The mission is still — I've still got to unify the division. That's one of the main things that I came in [with] and a goal that I set forth. I never had a true opportunity to get that accomplished due to other circumstances of different obligations of other people, but I never had that opportunity. And we're still here, I'm still young, I'm healthy."
Wilder will hope to shake off the cobwebs against Herndon, who will be the least accomplished foe ...
