Wilder ends losing streak with 7th-round TKO

Former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder returned to the win column Friday night, defeating Tyrrell Herndon via TKO at the 2:16 mark of the seventh round in a main-event bout in Wichita, Kansas.

Wilder snapped a two-fight skid and earned his first victory since October 2022.

The 39-year-old dropped Herndon twice - in the second and sixth rounds - before finishing him with a standing TKO in the seventh. Wilder knocked Herndon's head back with a heavy right hand, and the referee waved off the fight.

Wilder dominated his first contest in over a year from start to finish, putting pressure on Herndon and outlanding him throughout.

He was coming off back-to-back losses, a unanimous decision against Joseph Parker and a fifth-round knockout to Zhilei Zhang in December 2023 and June 2024, respectively.

Wilder's most recent win before Friday was a first-round knockout of Robert Helenius nearly three years ago. He's now 2-4 in his last six appearances dating back to 2020. The Alabama native lifted his professional record to 44-4-1 with 43 knockouts.

Wilder, one of the most feared knockout artists in his prime, held the WBC heavyweight title from 2015-19, defending it successfully 10 times.

Herndon, a journeyman heavyweight, saw his three-fight winning streak come to an end. The 37-year-old San Antonio native fell to 24-6 as a professional.