Deontay Wilder

Deontay Wilder is the former WBC heavyweight champion from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and one of the hardest punchers the division has seen. Known as "The Bronze Bomber" after his bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, he stands 6 ft 7 in with an 83-inch reach, boxes orthodox and has stopped 43 of the 45 men he has beaten in a professional record of 45-4-1.

WBC champion

Wilder turned professional in November 2008, a few months after Beijing, and won the WBC title by outpointing Bermane Stiverne in January 2015, the first American to hold a world heavyweight title since Shannon Briggs. He kept the belt for five years and made ten successful defences, equalling Muhammad Ali's run, and his rematch knockout of Luis Ortiz in 2019 was The Ring's Knockout of the Year.

The Tyson Fury trilogy

Three fights with Tyson Fury defined his career. The first, in Los Angeles in December 2018, ended in a split draw. Fury stopped him in the seventh round of the rematch in Las Vegas in February 2020 to take the WBC title, and knocked him out in the eleventh round of their third fight in October 2021.

Defeats and the comeback

A first-round knockout of Robert Helenius in New York in October 2022 was followed by two defeats in Riyadh: on points to Joseph Parker in December 2023 and in five rounds to Zhilei Zhang in June 2024. Wilder returned in June 2025 with a seventh-round stoppage of Tyrrell Herndon in Wichita, and in April 2026 he won a split decision over Derek Chisora at The O2 in London, his 50th professional fight.

Next: Jai Opetaia in Cardiff

On 4 November 2026 Netflix confirmed Wilder against the unbeaten Australian Jai Opetaia at heavyweight on the Tyson Fury v Anthony Joshua card at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Friday 11 December. Opetaia, unbeaten in 31 fights, is moving up from cruiserweight to face him.