Deontay Wilder has teased a fight with a fellow former world heavyweight champion as he gears up for his return to the ring.
The former long-reigning WBC world heavyweight champion made his much anticipated comeback to the sport back in June as he stopped countryman Tyrrell Anthony Herndon in the seventh round of their clash in Wichita, Kansas.
Wilder had found himself in poor form prior to his clash with Herndon, suffering consecutive defeats to former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker and China’s Zhilei ‘Big Bang’ Zhang in December 2023 and June 2024 respectively.
With rumours circulating that ‘The Bronze Bomber’ could be set to return to the ring for the 50th time as a professional before the end of the year, it’s a possibility the man in the opposite corner could be Andy Ruiz Jr.
Ruiz shared a short clip on his Instagram page showing himself and Wilder facing off with each other, with the caption “Coming soon to a ring near you”.
Andy Ruiz and Deontay Wilder face off before #CaneloCrawford 👀 pic.twitter.com/SQqqEexgBN
— Source of Boxing (@Sourceofboxing) September 13, 2025
Known as ‘The Destroyer’, Ruiz pulled off one of the biggest upset victories in the history of the sport back in 2019 when he stopped Britain’s Anthony Joshua in the seventh round of their showdown at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Ruiz’s reign as heavyweight champion was short-lived however, as he was beaten by ‘AJ’ in their rematch just six months later, suffering a unanimous decision defeat to the popular Brit in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.
The 36-year-old from California hasn’t fought since he fought to a majority draw against Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller over a year ago, although he has returned to the gym in recent weeks after he recovered from hand surgery that he had following his bout with Miller.
