Former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (43-4-1, 43 KOs) looked like a shell of his former self in knocking out journeyman Tyrrell Anthony Herndon (24-6, 15 KOs) in the seventh round in his comeback on Friday night at the Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas.
Wilder landed two clubbing right hands to the head of the exhausted Herndon in the seventh, prompting referee Ray Corona to stop the fight. The time was at 2:16 of round seven.
Wilder’s Power, Speed Gone
Herndon, 37, was down in rounds 2 and 6. The knockdown in round two was from a left hand by Deontay that caught Herndon when he was jumping in to land a shot. In the sixth, Wilder caught Tyrell against the ropes and clubbed him with shots, knocking him down with a right uppercut.
Deontay’s deterioration
- Loss of hand speed
- Power is gone in the right hand
- Poor accuracy
- Timid
Wilder couldn’t land with any degree of accuracy, even with Herndon standing still right in front of him. Repeatedly, Deontay would miss with his right and left hands.
What was noticeable was the loss of hand speed, power, and accuracy with Wilder. His right hand was a lot slower than it used to be, and it didn’t possess the same crushing power as it used to. He’d said in an interview this week that he’d been dealing with a right shoulder problem which had affected his power in that arm.
He said that the injury had healed. However, Deontay’s lack of power and loss of hand speed with his right showed that the injury was still there. If this is a permanent situation, Wilder isn’t going to do well against any heavyweight from the top 15. Herndon isn’t a top-tier fighter.
Wilder Must Fight Joshua Now
It would be a good idea for ‘The Bronze Bomber’ to try to make the fight with Anthony Joshua as soon as possible. It would be too risky for Deontay to off that fight because he can’t keep fighting low-level opposition like he did tonight without fans criticizing him.
Wilder’s Left Hand Shines
Tonight, Deontay’s best weapon was his left hand. His jab and left hook appeared as good as it was in the past. However, that wouldn’t be enough for Wilder to beat good heavyweights. The way he looked tonight, he’d lose to the bottom feeders ranked #15 in the division.