One could be forgiven for believing that Deontay Wilder had faded into obscurity.
His seven-round drubbing at the hands of Tyson Fury 15 months ago saw the vocal Alabamian lose his WBC crown following a five-year reign that had produced a stack of highlight reel knockouts.
In the immediate aftermath of his defeat to Fury, Wilder appeared to be the first fighter in history to make multiple excuses for the same loss as he was the subject of sustained criticism from the boxing community, with some members even suggesting he was suffering from mental health problems.
Wilder blamed fatigue in the fight on a costume he wore to the ring and he later sacked Mark Breland, a vital member of his corner team, who had sensibly stopped the fight with Wilder in desperate trouble. The first excuse borders on ridiculous but the axing of Breland was purely down to pride.
In an age where more boxers have lived to fight another day —Kell Brook, Daniel Dubois and Billy Joe Saunders immediately come to mind — Wilder was incensed that Breland prevented him from going out on his shield. The sight of the New Yorker waving the white towel looked set to be the final image of Wilder’s illustrious career. Until last week.
Joshua vs. Fury falls at the last hurdle
For months, Eddie Hearn has been relentless in his pursuit of securing the biggest fight out there, pitting Fury against Hearn's man Anthony Joshua. After securing the fighters’ signatures, Hearn has globetrotted to multiple unique venues in the hope of landing a major site fee to host the heavyweight superfight.
With Saudi Arabia winning the race to stage the event and August 14th announced as the date, Joshua vs. Fury for all the heavyweight marbles was set to be the showdown of a generation. But it wasn't to be.
Enter Wilder, who threw the mother of all spanners into the works courtesy of a rematch clause that was heavily supported by an arbiter. Fury vs. Joshua was off. Fury vs. Wilder 3 was on.
After a period of lengthy silence following his setback to Fury, Wilder is back at the forefront of the heavyweight division, and on July 24th he returns to Las Vegas aiming to settle the score with the man who inflicted his sole defeat to date. From the darkness, Wilder is now main eventing arguably the biggest fight of the summer.
Don't sleep on Wilder's redemption
With Malik Scott, a former victim of "The Bronze Bomber", now overseeing training duties in the absence of Jay Deas and Breland, the former champion is doing things differently. If he’s seeking inspiration in returning to the top then he only has to look at the man who’ll be in the opposite corner in two months' time.
Fury knows all about boxing comebacks but now it’s time for Wilder to prove to the world that he’s capable of doing the same. Long tortured for his technique, his lack of experience and accusations of being a one trick pony, Wilder has been on the receiving end of some absurd accusations. How many 'awful' boxers win Olympic medals and world titles?
Wilder has made his style work for him and it’s took him to the pinnacle of boxing where his name has been mentioned in the same bracket as multiple Olympic gold medalists and long reigning rulers. If a big punch was all that was required to achieve what Wilder has then boxing would be full of bar brawlers and doormen.
His rise to the top has been a slow one developed by people who know the sport inside out. It’s smart people that have revived his career and ensured his shot at redemption at Fury, and if Wilder pulls off a massive shock, it’ll be a result that gives the heavyweight division an altogether different look.