FORMER long-reigning WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder will end a year-long layoff on June 27, when boxing journeyman Tyrrell Herndon over ten rounds at the Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas.

Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) has won just one of his last five fights stretching back five years, a first-round knockout over former sparring partner Robert Helenius in October 2022. ESPN's Mike Coppinger was first to report the story.

Joshua Chasse of the Global Combat Collective said: "This is Wilder's legacy reloaded, he's still one of the hardest punchers in boxing. He's on the road back to becoming the heavyweight champion of the world, and this is the first step."

Legacy Reloaded is the card's tagline and tickets, priced between $50 in the upperbowl and up to $1,000 ringside, are on sale as they use this opportunity to prop Wilder back into the stream of public consciousness after highlight reel losses.

They have also announced that light-heavyweight contender Deon Nicholson (21-1, 17 KOs) will make his first appearance of 2025 in the evening's chief support bout.

Herndon (24-5, 15 KOs) is two years his junior at 37, though only a few notable names feature on the Texan's resume. He called it a "dream fight" and given his resume, this represents career-high billing even in these low-stakes circumstances.

He suffered a pair of knockout defeats by Shamarian Snider and a debuting Efe Ajagba in 2017, before being disqualified in the third round of a four-round bout against cruiserweight contender Brandon Glanton the year afterwards.

Four victories against unheralded opposition in Mexico helped him rebuild his confidence again, before suffering another stoppage loss in July 2019 against Corey Barlow. Top Ranked-backed prospect Richard Torrez Jr, who returns next weekend against Guido Vianello, stopped him in two rounds back in October 2023.

Wilder, linked with a matchup against former UFC champion Francis Ngannou, was readying an April comeback fight on BLK Prime. A proposed media announcement of his opponent was cancelled in January, prompting speculation about his future.

Last summer, he suffered a devastating fifth-round stoppage defeat by longtime contender Zhilei Zhang and six months prior, was soundly beaten over twelve rounds by another former champion in current WBO interim titleholder Joseph Parker.