What's next for Deontay Wilder after first-round KO gets him back in heavyweight championship picture?

Deontay Wilder won with a first-round knockout in 2 minutes, 57 seconds against Robert Helenius on Saturday night at the Barclays Center in New York in a heavyweight fight.

The Tuscaloosa native ended a two-fight losing streak and earned his first knockout in nearly three years during the quick bout, which saw less than 10 punches thrown. Wilder (43-2-1, 42 knockouts) was out-landed 5-3 in his fight against Helenius (31-4, 20 knockouts).

Here are the key takeaways from the duel between former sparring partner, and what's next for Wilder:

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First win in nearly three years for Wilder

It had been a while since Wilder last won, a 2019 seventh-round knockout of Luis Ortiz. Wilder went nearly three years without a victory, by far the longest stretch of his career.

Wilder last fought a year ago in October 2021 against Tyson Fury, who defeated him by 11th-round knockout, after Fury defeated him by technical knockout in January 2020.

"It’s been a good camp for me," Wilder said after the Helenius fight. "All my people around me. We wanted to make this fun again. You can do this for so long it just becomes a job, it’s just something that you’re doing. We just had to make it fun again. … We put over 720 or 730-something rounds in. It paid off tonight, big-time."

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Wilder can still bring the power

Wilder's 91.1% knockout percentage was the all-time heavyweight best entering this fight, and he raised it to 91.3% Wilder showed again why. He and Helenius threw simultaneous rights, but Wilder's arrived first and left Helenius immobilized on his back to end the fight. He had to be helped up after he lay there for more than a minute.

"I was making him reach," Wilder said. "I was trying to keep my distance. Robert has the heart of a champion. … I know what he is capable of. I didn’t take him lightly at all. I didn’t take him for granted. … I had to circle around the ring. I wanted to be mobile, hostile and agile tonight. I showed that. I set him up. I allowed him to reach, and then when he reached I attacked."

Only two fighters ever lasted to the final bell with Wilder: Fury in their 2018 12-round draw and Bermane Stiverne, when Wilder first won the World Boxing Council heavyweight title.

Helenius could not join that rare club even with Wilder, 6-foot-7 and 214 1/2 pounds, at his lightest since fighting Fury at 212 in 2018. Helenius, 6-6 and 253 1/4 pounds, fought at his heaviest since 2016.

Wilder's previous nine wins were all by knockout, and he extended the streak to 10. Wilder's lighter weight had no impact on his power after dropping from the 238 pounds he last fought at against Fury in Las Vegas.

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Wilder did not get knocked down in his bout with Helenius because Helenius did not land any significant punches in the two minutes and change. It is a major contrast from Wilder's previous two fights, when he suffered knockdowns in five rounds over 18 rounds of boxing and two knockout losses to Fury.

The boxing world didn't find out how Wilder would respond to a massive strike from Helenius, himself a noted puncher.

However it's sliced, this was an encouraging return for Wilder's camp.

The Bronze Bomber returns to the championship picture

Ranked No. 1 by the WBC entering the fight and leaving it unblemished against No. 5 Helenius, Wilder has given himself a chance for another high-stakes fight by being a show-stopper.

In the ring after the fight, Wilder called out Oleksandr Usyk, the WBO, International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Association champion. Usyk is one of a few big names Wilder has yet to enter the ring with.

Wilder also called out Anthony Joshua, who has lost to Usyk twice since September 2021 with with three titles on the line. A fight between the two former world champions would be another big-money fight.

Wilder's possibly could not have won in a better fashion to boost his desirability as an opponent.

"I’ve been hearing rumors about Usyk," Wilder said. "I see he ain’t in the building, or is he? Most of the time when guys say they want me and they come to a show of mine and they see a devastating knockout like that, they turn the corner on me. I’ve had many. I’m down for whatever, whether it’s Andy Ruiz or Usyk or whoever. Let’s bring it on. Deontay Wilder is back. There’s no heavyweight division without Deontay Wilder. That’s facts."

A third name Wilder has yet to face is Ruiz, who beat Joshua for the IBF, WBA and WBO titles in 2019, only to lose them back to Joshua in a rematch.

A fourth fight with Fury is not out the question. Usyk and Fury could fight to unify the belts. Wilder could keep himself busy in the meanwhile with another challenging opponent.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Deontay Wilder returns to heavyweight title picture with first-round KO