Deontay Wilder is set to announce his ring return following back-to-back losses in Saudi Arabia.
The 39-year-old from Tuscaloosa, Alabama held the WBC World Heavyweight Title for the best part of half a decade until 2020 when he rematched Tyson Fury. At that point, Wilder had scored knockouts in all but two of his fights, but it was the Brit who pulled off the stoppage to snatch the belt.
A loss in their trilogy bout led to a period of inactivity for ‘The Bronze Bomber’ before he returning with a one-round blowout of former sparring partner Robert Helenius.
He took another year out before being matched up with Joseph Parker with the promise of an Anthony Joshua fight should he win. Parker upset the odds on style, winning a wide decision and leaving many criticising Wilder’s performance. Another shot at redemption saw him knocked out by Zhilei Zhang, and then came the calls to retire.
The knockout artist, however, has confirmed he will fight on and is readying an announcement with platform BLK Prime for an April bout. Reports on social media suggested the opponent would be Stephan Shaw, but the former sparring partner said he hadn’t heard anything solid. Now, Curtis Harper has confirmed to the Ring Magazine that he will fill the opposite corner.
“Yes [I’ve signed the contract] … It’s supposed to be in April.”
Curtis ‘The Hurt’ Harper is 18-11 in his professional campaign, which kicked off back in 2010. The 36-year-old from Jacksonville, Florida has also been stopped by Zhang and made headlines when he exited the ring on the first bell against Ede Ajagba in 2018.
He is on a run of four stoppages, though they came against low level opposition and he will be seen as a confidence builder for Wilder, who doesn’t have too much time on his hands of he wants to compete at the very top level again.
