Wilder was stopped by police at around 1.15am in Los Angeles. Upon inspection, officers found that his car windows were illegally tinted, and his license plate was obstructed. During the routine check, the officers discovered that Wilder had a concealed weapon, resulting in his arrest.
The boxer was booked at 3.13am, and after posting bail, he was released at 6.34am. He has a court date of May 23 set in Los Angeles, where he could face a felony charge and a fine of up to $10,000.
Following his release, Wilder took to Twitter to address the incident. In a cryptic and brief statement, he told his 776,700+ followers, “I’d rather be safe than sorry. The End.”
Wilder has been training in California for his eventual ring return, with talks currently underway for a bout between him and Joshua.
The two former champions are in discussions to meet in Saudi Arabia, where Joshua has boxed twice, and Wilder visited as a spectator back in February for Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury.
The proposed card is part of a tournament that Saudi Arabian officials are looking to host, with Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk facing off for the undisputed gold. Fury dethroned Wilder as WBC champion in 2020 before a 2021 trilogy bout defense, while Usyk defeated Joshua twice for the WBA, IBF and WBO belts in 2021 and 2022.
Wilder is also in talks to box former UFC champion Francis Ngannou sometime next year. The two discussed a mega event in Africa, happening on the anniversary of the infamous Rumble in the Jungle Mohammed Ali event.
This would be in October of 2024.
He told ESPN: “We are looking around that timeline for the potential second fight. Which, in my opinion, should still be in boxing.
“Boxing is a new challenge, but remember, at the beginning, MMA was just as challenging as boxing – if not bigger.
“So, I don’t back down from challenges.”
It remains to be seen whether Wilder’s arrest will impact talks for the proposed event with Joshua, which has been heavily anticipated by fans. Both boxers have made returns to action since losing their belts, with Wilder knocking out Robert Helenius within a round back in October, and Joshua winning by unanimous decision against Jermaine Franklin in a relatively lack-lustre bout.