Deontay Wilder is set to feature on the Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua undercard at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Friday 11th December.
Wilder endured the toughest years of his professional boxing career between 2020 and 2024, losing four of his five bouts.
Back-to-back defeats against Tyson Fury took a huge physical toll on the ‘Bronze Bomber’, and while he returned to the ring with a victory against Robert Helenius, subsequent defeats against Joseph Parker, via unanimous decision, and Zhilei Zhang, via TKO, were damaging.
Following a year away from the sport, Wilder stopped Tyrrell Anthony Herndon in June 2025, before getting the better of heavyweight veteran Derek Chisora in a gritty split-decision thriller.
With two consecutive victories under his belt, the 41-year-old’s stocks have risen ever so slighty, and he prepares for a return to the ring in an eagerly anticipated night of boxing.
While the contracts are yet to be signed, Wilder is set to fight Jai Opetaia on the undercard of Fury vs Joshua, with the card scheduled to start on the night of Friday 11th December and run through until the early hours of Saturday 12th December.
The Australian was stripped of his IBF cruiserweight title in March when opting to fight Brandon Glanton on a Zuffa Boxing card, but he retained The Ring title at 200lbs and clinched the Zuffa Boxing cruiserweight title with a victory over Glanton.
In his most recent bout, he defeated Noel Mikaelian via TKO in the ninth round to add the WBA (Regular) cruiserweight belt to his accolades, but the status of all three current straps will likely be put up in the air if Opetaia is to make the jump to the heavyweight division for his bout with Wilder.
While negotiations for an enthralling clash between Wilder and Opetaia are seemingly progressing, the ‘Bronze Bomber’ has publicly expressed a willingness to fight Murat Gassiev, who was elevated to full WBA heavyweight world champion status in June 2026 after Oleksandr Usyk vacated his titles.
He said: “There is some communication between me and Murat’s team for sure, and I would love that. Out of all the choices, I would love for that one to go.
"He’s a great guy, a great champion. He’s been to my camps before, and we’ve sparred.
"I always thought very highly of Murat, even as a human being. To see him as a champion is well deserved.
“Now I hope we can really get in the ring where it really counts. I would love that. But we’ll see what happens.”
