Francis Ngannou vs. Deontay Wilder - In Talks

[Ruthless-RKO]

Francis Ngannou expects Deontay Wilder talks to begin soon

Francis Ngannou has been calling for a boxing match with Deontay Wilder for some time – and if the MMA star is to be believed, there will at last be a conversation between the two.

“We haven’t engaged personally, but it’s going to be soon,” Ngannou said on Monday’s episode of “The Ariel Helwani Show.” “We are setting some things up.”

Ngannou was the UFC heavyweight champion before departing the world’s leading mixed martial arts promotion in early 2023. He soon signed with the Professional Fighters League, also known as PFL. But Ngannou, a 38-year-old from Cameroon, has since had more bouts in the boxing ring than within an MMA cage.

In his pro boxing debut, Ngannou challenged then-heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in October 2023, surprisingly dropping Fury in the third round and leaving with the short end of a close split decision verdict.

Those who believed that outcome was partially the result of Fury taking Ngannou lightly had their beliefs bolstered by what happened in Ngannou’s next boxing match. In March 2024, Anthony Joshua dropped Ngannou three times in two rounds for a one-sided knockout victory.

Ngannou then dealt with the worst of personal tragedies in April 2024, when his 15-month-old son died.

Ngannou returned to MMA last October, dominating Renan Ferreira for a first-round stoppage win and capturing the PFL’s heavyweight title in the process. Ngannou’s MMA record is 18-3 with 17 wins by KO or submission.

Wilder, meanwhile, is the third member of the triumvirate that once ruled boxing’s heavyweight division before the Oleksandr Usyk Era; Fury and Joshua were the other two.

Wilder, 44-4-1 (43 KOs), had his five-year run as a heavyweight titleholder come to an end in February 2020, when he lost his rematch to Fury via seventh-round TKO. Wilder fought valiantly in a war with Fury in their third fight in October 2021, trading knockdowns and heavy blows before succumbing in the 11th round.

There was little shame in losing to the best heavyweight in the world at the time and perhaps being no worse than second-best. But the damage Wilder took in his two defeats to Fury, plus inactivity, plus the slowing that comes with age, began to show. Wilder understandably took a year to recover from Fury, returning with a one-round win over Robert Helenius in October 2022.

Wilder didn’t fight again for another 14 months, which meant he had logged all of three minutes of in-ring time in a span of more than two years. He was outboxed in a decision loss to Joseph Parker in December 2023 and then suffered a highlight-reel KO at the hands of Zhilei Zhang in June 2024.

After another yearlong layoff, Wilder came back this past June and scored a seventh-round TKO win over the 24-5 Tyrrell Anthony Herndon.

Before the Herndon bout, Wilder was asked about Ngannou in an interview with Helwani and Ade Oladipo.

“I’m definitely interested,” Wilder said at the time.

[jimb0d]

Francis must already have brain damage to be considering this after the AJ knockout.

[golden_labrador]

Deontay has at least 8 children so I can imagine he'll be game for any novelty fights in the next year or so.

[joshj909]

Francis must already have brain damage to be considering this after the AJ knockout.

Ngannou did better against Fury than Wilder ever did

[JC]

Francis must already have brain damage to be considering this after the AJ knockout.

Ngannou did better against Fury than Wilder ever did

Totally disagree. Unless you only count the second Wilder fight.

[stujones]

Francis must already have brain damage to be considering this after the AJ knockout.

Ngannou did better against Fury than Wilder ever did

Totally disagree. Unless you only count the second Wilder fight.

Ngannou won in many peoples eyes and floored Fury.

Yes - Wilder floored Fury I think 4 times in the other two fights, but won a total 4 rounds tops in 22 completed rounds. Ngannou won more rounds against Fury than Wilder did in 3 fights and ended up getting stopped twice including a massive KTFO moment. Was Ngannou ever close to being stopped vs Fury?

[JC]

Ngannou did better against Fury than Wilder ever did

Totally disagree. Unless you only count the second Wilder fight.

Ngannou won in many peoples eyes and floored Fury.

Yes - Wilder floored Fury I think 4 times in the other two fights, but won a total 4 rounds tops in 22 completed rounds. Ngannou won more rounds against Fury than Wilder did in 3 fights and ended up getting stopped twice including a massive KTFO moment. Was Ngannou ever close to being stopped vs Fury?

Subjective, I guess. For me Ngannou was an awkward very low volume fight with an embarrassing knockdown. I didn't think it was a robbery, though not a super clear win for Fury either.

Wilder very nearly had Fury out cold. And had him badly hurt several times. Also if, as you say, Fury won every other round, which I'm not sure it did, a lot of them were very narrow (as with Ngannou)

[joshj909]

Totally disagree. Unless you only count the second Wilder fight.

Ngannou won in many peoples eyes and floored Fury.

Yes - Wilder floored Fury I think 4 times in the other two fights, but won a total 4 rounds tops in 22 completed rounds. Ngannou won more rounds against Fury than Wilder did in 3 fights and ended up getting stopped twice including a massive KTFO moment. Was Ngannou ever close to being stopped vs Fury?

Subjective, I guess. For me Ngannou was an awkward very low volume fight with an embarrassing knockdown. I didn't think it was a robbery, though not a super clear win for Fury either.

Wilder very nearly had Fury out cold. And had him badly hurt several times. Also if, as you say, Fury won every other round, which I'm not sure it did, a lot of them were very narrow (as with Ngannou)

I had Ngannou winning 5 rounds if you're being biased towards Fury, but it was more like 7 including the 10-8 knockdown round. Wilder got his knockdowns but might have won one or two rounds that didn't have a knockdown across the three fights. Ngannou was never in any trouble and was out boxing then dropped Fury, whereas Wilder never did that. Wilder might have come close to stopping Fury but the record shows he got stopped multiple times, dropped repeatedly and got gifted a very, very disputed draw in their first.

[jimb0d]

How he did against fury doesn't matter. He got absolutely iced by AJ, must have millions in the bank and is gambling with his health against someone who is still well capable of hurting him severely. Madness

[stujones]

How he did against fury doesn't matter. He got absolutely iced by AJ, must have millions in the bank and is gambling with his health against someone who is still well capable of hurting him severely. Madness

Couldn't the same be applied to Wilder though? Got iced vs Fury, KO'd pretty bad vs Zhang, even hurt against the light punching Parker.

There is nothing to suggest the Ngannou vs Wilder is a mismatch and this is a dangerous sport for BOTH.

Wilder is freaking 40 now also, just because he still looks in tip top shape.

[MasterG]

Deontay has at least 8 children so I can imagine he'll be game for any novelty fights in the next year or so.

Deontay will be funding his children in education, possibly leading on to further costs when the go to uni.

[jimb0d]

How he did against fury doesn't matter. He got absolutely iced by AJ, must have millions in the bank and is gambling with his health against someone who is still well capable of hurting him severely. Madness

Couldn't the same be applied to Wilder though? Got iced vs Fury, KO'd pretty bad vs Zhang, even hurt against the light punching Parker.

There is nothing to suggest the Ngannou vs Wilder is a mismatch and this is a dangerous sport for BOTH.

Wilder is freaking 40 now also, just because he still looks in tip top shape.

He's a world class boxer and a KO artist though. That's the mismatch.

[golden_labrador]

Deontay has at least 8 children so I can imagine he'll be game for any novelty fights in the next year or so.

Deontay will be funding his children in education, possibly leading on to further costs when the go to uni.

exactly. he'll be going the best-paying fights, even if that's a crossover one with Francis

[jameswilson]

Maybe he could fight Danny Williams with the winners son getting a place at Harvard.

[golden_labrador]

Maybe he could fight Danny Williams with the winners son getting a place at Harvard.

sounds like an episode of Black Mirror

[JamesPhilips]

Maybe he could fight Danny Williams with the winners son getting a place at Harvard.

[gilgamesh]

How he did against fury doesn't matter. He got absolutely iced by AJ, must have millions in the bank and is gambling with his health against someone who is still well capable of hurting him severely. Madness

Couldn't the same be applied to Wilder though? Got iced vs Fury, KO'd pretty bad vs Zhang, even hurt against the light punching Parker.

There is nothing to suggest the Ngannou vs Wilder is a mismatch and this is a dangerous sport for BOTH.

Wilder is freaking 40 now also, just because he still looks in tip top shape.

He's a world class boxer and a KO artist though. That's the mismatch.

It's a mismatch on paper. I'm not sure it would be a mismatch in the ring at this point.

[gilgamesh]

Francis must already have brain damage to be considering this after the AJ knockout.

Ngannou did better against Fury than Wilder ever did

Totally disagree. Unless you only count the second Wilder fight.

Ngannou definitely had a much closer fight with Fury than Wilder did in any of their bouts except the first one. I don't know if it was a case of Ngannou doing particularly well or Fury doing especially bad. I think it was a bit of both.

Fury obviously took him too lightly, and made it harder than it should've been.

[stujones]

How he did against fury doesn't matter. He got absolutely iced by AJ, must have millions in the bank and is gambling with his health against someone who is still well capable of hurting him severely. Madness

Couldn't the same be applied to Wilder though? Got iced vs Fury, KO'd pretty bad vs Zhang, even hurt against the light punching Parker.

There is nothing to suggest the Ngannou vs Wilder is a mismatch and this is a dangerous sport for BOTH.

Wilder is freaking 40 now also, just because he still looks in tip top shape.

He's a world class boxer and a KO artist though. That's the mismatch.

Could be argued hes never been a world class boxer, let alone the 40 year old version of him. When’s the last time he won a round at world class. When’s the last time he won a minute of a round at world class.

KO artist, yes.

[Ruthless-RKO]

EXCLUSIVE: Wilder vs Ngannou OFF the table for 2025

Deontay Wilder’s future remains one of the most debated topics in heavyweight boxing. After returning to winning ways this summer, speculation quickly centered on a blockbuster crossover with Francis Ngannou.

The former UFC champion has been heavily linked to a ring meeting with the ‘Bronze Bomber’ in 2025. However, Wilder’s long-time advisor, Shelly Finkel, has told World Boxing News the fight is not on the table this year.

“Deontay Wilder will not be facing Francis Ngannou in 2025,” Finkel confirmed exclusively to WBN. “That fight is not happening this year.”

The admission ends weeks of rumors suggesting Wilder could be the next high-profile name to test Ngannou after his battles with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. But crucially, Finkel did not close the door beyond 2025, leaving hope for a future showdown.

[Ruthless-RKO]

https://ringmagazine.com/en/news/unedit ... tay-wilder

[Ruthless-RKO]

Shelly Finkel, Wilder’s manager, told Sky Sports: “Deontay would be open to that fight next year.”

[Ruthless-RKO]

Deontay Wilder has Francis Ngannou, Anthony Joshua in his sights

Former WBC heavyweight titleholder Deontay Wilder has said Francis Ngannou is in his sights, though Ngannou might not necessarily be next.

Wilder, a 39-year-old from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, improved to 44-4-1 (43 KOs) with a seventh-round stoppage of Tyrell Anthony Herndon in Wichita, Kansas, in June. He told "The Ariel Helwani Show" that he would fight again this year, possibly twice, and that he was open to fights with Ngannou and Anthony Joshua.

“It felt amazing,” he said of his return earlier this year. “It felt wonderful to get that hand raised. I’ve been dealing with a lot the last four-and-a-half years, especially when you’re dealing with betrayal.”

Wilder had been talking cryptically about people inside his camp abusing his trust, and he said that caused him to lose focus and “switch off when the bell rang” in his fights.

He suffered consecutive defeats to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang in 2023 and 2024 and was out for a year before the Herndon fight.

“Sometimes you have to look at losses as a blessing in disguise,” said Wilder. “I have the power to change my future and the power to change what is not going right in my life. ... In the time that we have in this life, you can make a stand. And I made a stand. … I had to take a wellness check, get myself right, get myself together and here I am.”

Wilder then said he had around another decade of boxing ahead of him, partly because he started at just 21.

“I’ve got about 10 years left to do what I’ve got to do,” Wilder, a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist, said. “In the heavyweight division we can go a bit longer given that the bigger guys’ division is not packed like the smaller division so we don’t take the damage of the smaller guys. ... The heavyweights, they always go a little bit longer. ... I’m a veteran. I just got into the groove of things. I’m not burnt out at all. I feel great.”

Wilder said that talks with Ngannou were “warming up” between the camps.

“My interest is high. I’m ready to go, with anyone. If Francis is next, let it be.

“Francis’ got the heart, he’s an MMA champion, two strong guys and we want to test out our power against each other’s face. So I’m all in.”

[Frostieballs]

Wouldn’t be surprised if Francis beats him.

[joshj909]

Wouldn’t be surprised if Francis beats him.

It wouldn't be unforeseeable, Wilder has the power to KO him like Joshua did but Ngannou could probably outbox him the way he managed to outbox Fury, their only common opponent. Ngannou does also carry power.