Former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder marked his much-anticipated return to the boxing ring with a thunderous knockout punch that stopped Robert Helenius in the opening round of their bout at Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on Saturday night.
A punch like that one declared Wilder's intentions to be a force in the division. In case it wasn't clear by his performance, Wilder emphasized the point after the match
"Deontay Wilder is back," he said in his postfight interview on Fox. "The excitement in the heavyweight division is back."
Wilder was making his return to in-ring action for the first time since he lost to Tyson Fury last October. Fury became the first foe to ever get up from a Wilder knockdown when he got off the mat in the 12th round during their split draw in 2018. Fury then proceeded to win the next two fights by knockout, including their bout last year that featured five knockdowns between them and was considered by many as the fight of the year.
