Promoter Nelson Lopez Jr is the person responsible for masterminding Deontay Wilder’s (43-4-1, 42 KOs) latest comeback.
“The Bronze Bomber” fights Texas heavyweight champion Tyrell Herndon (24-5, 15 KOs) tomorrow, June 27, in Wichita.
Lopez confirmed there is a three-fight deal in place between them, and that Wilder’s second comeback fight is already pencilled in.
For fight number three, it’s been revealed the pair a planning on challenging Anthony Joshua.
“Lolo” Lopez told SunSport: “Yeah listen, we got a tentative deal and we’re just going one by one.
“We have the next one set up, this one set up, nothing solid for the third one – you know how boxing is, there’s no path of how you succeed. We have to get over this, so anything can happen. We got to get over the next one.
“And then, you know, maybe Eddie [Hearn] will sit at the table and see [if] we can do something with AJ.”
Former two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua has been in a similar situation to Wilder, having lost his last fight and recovering from shoulder surgery.
Wilder also had corrective surgery on an ongoing shoulder injury and is now ready to resume his punching career.
He has lost four from his last five fights, so cannot afford to lose again, especially at the age of 39, which is why his comeback has been planned as a low profile fight against an opponent mostly unheard of.
Wilder was stunned on points against Joseph Parker in December 2024, before being knocked out six months later by Zhilei Zhang.
He was due to fight 35-year-old Joshua, but those devastating defeats obliterated the chances of it materialising.
But the prospect still lingers, so if AJ wins his next bout, rumoured to be in November time this year, and Wilder completes two warm-up bouts successfully, then a Joshua-Wilder mega-fight for early 2026 could still be possible.
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