Deontay Wilder is excited to get back into the ring when he returns next month.

The former WBC heavyweight champion fights Tyrell Anthony Herndon in Wichita on June 27. The 39-year-old is refusing to call the bout a comeback, following losses to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang.

However, now 43-4-1 (42 KOs), he also hopes to show an improved version of himself, almost three years on from his last win – which came when he battered Robert Helenius in a round.

Wilder said that for years he battled through shoulder pain that finally resulted in two surgeries and now he is pain free and predicting a return to his wild and violent best.

“I’m going to feel amazing,” he told BoxingScene of his return. “You know, my mind is back, my spirit. Physically, I’m back. I’m free of injuries now. They used to call me ‘Windmill Wilder.’ I didn’t have that windmill no more. I got that motherfucker now. Yeah, I’ve had two surgeries on my shoulders. It had cost me [in previous fights] to still be injured… at least the last three to four years of my career. I had to do what I had to do. You know, I still had to go out and do what I wanted to do. I could have sat around for years to try to heal this shoulder up. And anybody know anything about a shoulder injury, they know that’s like one of the most longest recoveries. And every time I lifted my arm or threw my right hand or even wiped my ass, my arm, my shoulder were hurt. I was in pain 24 hours a day, but still trying to have a regular lifestyle of living. You know what I’m saying? You can’t let it irritate you or bother you for the rest of your life. You got to be able to adapt to the pain and the situation and still have some type of natural ability of carrying on with life.” 

The puncher from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, will fight Herndon at the Charles Koch Arena in a fight that is scheduled for 10 rounds. Herndon, from San Antonio, Texas, is 24-5 (15 KOs).

Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, is on The Ring ratings panel and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.