Deontay Wilder is making one last run at heavyweight glory, starting this April against a man that many boxing fans have seen before.
Perhaps the name Curtis Harper, who comes with an unflattering 18-11 record, won’t ring a bell for fans who watched Wilder battle with Tyson Fury, Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker. But they’ll all be aware of his infamous meeting with Efe Ajagba in 2018, which ended before the fight ever began.
The clip of their meeting went viral for years on social media, and Harper now has a chance to reinvent himself in front of a massive audience. But to do so, he will need to make it to the first punch being thrown, which is tough against someone like Wilder.
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Deontay Wilder looks set to face Curtis Harper in boxing return
Earlier this week, The Ring Magazine reported that Deontay Wilder’s April comeback was set to take place in Atlanta, with an opponent in mind. They named Harper as the man who would welcome the ‘Bronze Bomber’ back to the ring in a relatively underwhelming matchup.
Wilder had clearly needed to take a step back after being brutally knocked out by Zhang in Riyadh last year during the Matchroom Boxing and Queensberry Promotions 5v5 event. But given that his last ring return in 2022 came against Robert Helenius, it would have been expected that he might fight up a bit.
Harper is 18-11 as a professional, with six knockout defeats on his record. He has been on a winning run of late, snapping a losing run with a DQ victory that led to three more in 2024, but still seems to be way away from the type of names getting big fights in the current era of heavyweight boxing.
Curtis Harper famously walked out of the ring during Efe Ajagba fight
The most famous fight of Harper’s career is one that didn’t even happen back in 2018. The Armory in Minnesota hosted that August 24 event, which was headlined by hometown Jamal James’ winning return against Mahonri Montes.
However, the most infamous moment of that night arrived on the undercard when undefeated prospect Efe Ajagba made his way to the ring. He faced off with Curtis Harper, touched gloves, and prepared for the first bell.
However, once the bell had sounded, Harper hopped out of the ring and headed backstage. This left Ajagba a frustrated DQ winner with a one-second stoppage on his record that would make him a viral star for years to come.
Real reason Curtis Harper left the ring before Efe Ajagba fight revealed
While the uninitated viewers, as well as Ajagba’s promoters, would claim that Harper was too afraid to fight, the reality was much different. There was actually a dispute over finances, with the fighter pulling his stunt as an effort to get back at organizers.
His team claimed that they had yet to receive a legitimate fight contract from the event’s promoters. He had been due to make $6,000 as a purse, and was also garnished with hotel rooms, travel and per diem which had been terms of his original contract.
“It was not a matter of caring about the opponent,” Harper told ESPN after the fact. “There was no fear from me of getting in that ring. As you can see before the fight, I was joking, smiling. There was no fear of Efe Ajagba.”
He has since admitted that he regretted what he had done, telling Jacksonville.com: “It’s still mind-boggling to me. I tell you, my wife [has] to sit there and hug me sometimes; [there] might be a tear every now and the. I’m like, damn, I really walked out of a fight. Ain’t no way in hell I should’ve done that.”