Former world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, with a record of 43-4-1 (42 KOs), put to rest any speculation about his retirement, after announcing that he will return to action next April in Atlanta, Georgia.
According to Boxing Scene, which cites an official familiar with Wilder’s team, the fight will be handled by BLK Prime and the opponent will be fellow American veteran Curtis Harper, from Jacksonville, Florida, who has a professional record of 18-11 with 12 knockouts
And whose most memorable moment is his decision to walk out of a Minnesota ring before even throwing a punch against his opponent Efe Ajagba in 2018.
Wilder had a press conference scheduled to formally announce his return on Saturday in Los Angeles, but the session was canceled due to the wildfires that have devastated Southern California, so the official announcement is expected to come towards the end of the week.
The beginning of the end in Wilder’s career
Wilder is in a marked decline in his career, with four defeats in his last five fights, including two devastating knockouts at the hands of the former division champion Tyson Fury in 2020 and 2021. In the latter encounter, he was knocked down three times, until the fight was stopped in the penultimate round
The Alabama native returned with a knockout of Robert Helenius but then lost again, this time to former WBA champion Joseph Parker in December 2023 in Saudi Arabia. Then, in June last year, he took a beating again in the Middle East in a fight that ended with a devastating knockout at the hands of China’s Zhilei Zhang in the fifth round
However, his representative, Shelly Finkel, says his fighter is upbeat after undergoing shoulder surgery and is confident of giving one last twist to his career, which includes an Olympic bronze medal at Beijing 2008 and holding the world title for five years between 2015 and 2020.
Harper went on a four-fight losing streak, including two to Top Rank prospects Richard Torrez Jr. and Guido Vianello, but in 2024 he bounced back with four wins, which did not go past the second round and is considered a tough fighter who would allow Wilder to have a challenge in front of him, in a fight that looks interesting because of the punching power of both fighters.