Former heavyweight title holder Deontay Wilder traveled to middle America for a much-desired positive step toward redemption.

Wilder (44-4-1, 43 KOs) ensured his career wouldn't continue to be a middling one by scoring a one-sided seventh-round technical knockout win against Tyrell Herndon in a tune-up tilt Friday at the Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas.

Wilder, who turns 40 in October and came into the fight with a 1-4 record since 2020, looked solid and sharp against the outmatched Herndon (24-6, 15 KOs), who provided very little resistance in a fight scheduled for ten.

Wilder dropped Herndon in the second and sixth rounds before finishing the fast-fading Herndon on his feet once referee Ray Corona waved off the action at the 2:16 mark of the seventh.

"It felt great. Herndon was a tough guy. I appreciate the work," Wilder said in the ring after the fight. "I had a long time to get myself together, mentally, physically, emotionally. It's been a long road for me. I’m just glad to be back in the ring. I know I didn't give everybody what they truly wanted to see, but we are going to get better as we get going. This is a new beginning for me. I'll be getting better and better, I promise you that."

The fight headlined a Global Combat Collective and BLK Prime pay-per-view event.

The only element missing from the win was the highlight-reel knockout that the prolific power-punching Wilder is known for.

Unlike recent fights, Wilder was active as soon as he got out of the gates by unleashing a long, range-finding jab to keep Herndon at bay.

In the second round, Wilder landed a looping left hook that had Herndon holding. He followed by unleashing a big overhand right that missed, but moments later he caught and dropped Herndon with a cupping, check left hook. Herndon was not hurt and complained to referee Corona that he slipped.

With new head coach Don House in his corner, along with longtime trainer Jay Deas, the Tuscaloosa, Alabama native Wilder continued his aggressive approach in the third and fourth rounds as Herndon successfully slipped several punches. The defensive-minded Herndon was throwing one punch at a time with extensive lulls in his offense.

By the fifth, blood started to trickle from Herndon's nose.

Herndon's legs were gone in the sixth, and Wilder dropped him with a shot, forcing him to sit on the ropes. Herndon immediately got up, however, once Corona's count reached nine.

Herndon appeared to take a knee in the seventh, but Corona didn't rule it a knockdown. Wilder made sure the fight would have a definitive ending, though, as another right hand left the helpless Herndon backpedaling. The sequence forced Corona to wave off the fight.

During the buildup of his fight, billed as Legacy Reloaded, Wilder told The Ring he sought a psychologist to help with his mental health problems, and that he was planning on taking additional tuneups this year to build himself back up for bouts against Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua.

Wilder's career got upended beginning in 2020 when he lost his WBC title to Tyson Fury by stoppage. Losses to Fury, once again by knockout in 2021, as well as Joseph Parker in a landslide decision in 2023, and a fifth-round knockout against Zhilei Zhang last June, followed. Wilder's lone win during the uneven stretch was a first-round KO against Robert Helenius in 2022.

Herndon came into the fight having been knocked out by Richard Torrez Jr. and Efe Ajagba in a total of three rounds and proved to be no match for Wilder either.

In other action, Lateef Kayode suffered a one-sided beating against Gustavo Trujillo and was mercifully saved by his corner once the fight was stopped in the sixth round of a heavyweight contest scheduled for ten.

Trujillo (8-0, 7 KOs), a 32-year-old from Cuba, was unleashing a heavy diet of unanswered punches throughout the fight against Kayode (22-6, 17 KOs), a 42-year-old Nigerian who made a name for himself over a decade ago.

Kayode fought Antonio Tarver to a draw in 2012 and suffered a first-round knockout against Luis Ortiz in 2014 but both results were changed to No Contests as both opponents tested positive for banned substances.

Junior bantamweight Nico Hernandez (12-0, 5 KOs) dropped Robert Ledesma (3-15-1, 2 KOs) in the first round, and twice in the second to score a dominant stoppage win at home.

Journeyman Aaron Casper (9-11-2, 5 KOs) scored an upset unanimous decision win against Jeff Page Jr. (18-4, 12 KOs) in their six-round cruiserweight fight via scores of 59-55, 59-55, 58-56.

Lightweight Eric Valencia (4-0, 4 KOs) dropped Willie Harris (0-2) in the opening seconds of the fight and again as soon as he got up with a big body shot to score an incredibly easy first-round knockout.

Keeping in theme of fast finishes, heavyweight John Cantrell (14-0, 13 KOs) blasted Franklin Sparks (4-5, 3 KOs) with a big left hook to score a first-round knockout.

Junior welterweight Jorge Carlos (10-0, 9 KOs) knocked down Jay Krupp (18-11, 8 KOs) with a body shot, and did so again for good measure – this time for good – as the crumpled Krupp was counted out on the canvas in the opening stanza.

Nineteen-year-old super middleweight prospect Marco Romero (9-0, 8 KOs) crushed Andre Amaro (2-1, 2 KOs) with a four-punch combination to score a similarly easy first-round knockout win.

Featherweight Chancey Wilson (1-0) kicked off the PPV broadcast, and his pro career, with a four-round unanimous decision win against fellow debutant Joshua Richey (0-1) via scores of 40-35, 40-35, 39-36.