Former heavyweight boxing champion Deontay Wilder has once again called for a showdown with Francis Ngannou.
As we know, Deontay Wilder is one of the hardest hitters in the history of professional boxing. He has done some incredible things throughout the course of his career and while a lot of people believe that he’s done at the elite level, ‘The Bronze Bomber’ seems to be interested in at least one more fight.
One name that comes to mind for Deontay Wilder to face is none other than Francis Ngannou. The former UFC heavyweight champion has already faced Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua in the middle of the ring, and it only makes sense for him to complete the hat-trick.
In a recent interview, Deontay Wilder reiterated his desire to throw down with ‘The Predator’, potentially in Africa.
Deontay Wilder sends a message to Francis Ngannou 👀
“Francis, let’s get it on baby… once and for all. Your power against my power.”
“Hey baby, Francis, let’s get it on baby. If you serious about what you saying, for I am serious about what I’m saying. Let’s get it on once and for all. Your power against my power. Let’s test it out baby. Hey, if you down, I’m down. We can go to the motherland too, baby. AFRICA!”
Wilder will be aware of the power that will come back his way when facing Ngannou, but Deontay has taken on heavy hitters before. So long as he can ease his way into the fight and take things at his own pace, he stands a great chance of picking up the win.
Ngannou’s transition from MMA to professional boxing has generated significant attention. It’s not often that you see a top fighter in the UFC move into boxing in his prime.
Ngannou, known for his incredible punching power in the UFC, had long been interested in boxing. He made his debut in the ring against Tyson Fury in October 2023. This was a very high-profile fight, and Ngannou surprised many by putting on a very good performance and even knocking Fury down.
After losing via a controversial split decision, the Cameroonian then faced Anthony Joshua last March, falling to defeat by second-round knockout. Now, he’s looking ahead.
During an interview with SpaceportSweden.com, Deontay Wilder’s coach, Malik Scott, spoke about the potential fight between the two heavyweights.
“I haven’t seen Ngannou work enough with 10 ounce gloves on in a boxing ring. Is he a big, strong, heavy-handed guy? Yes. But with Deontay, Deontay’s power is blessed because he gets to the target so fast. He puts his hip through you, he puts his shoulder through. It’s just so many different dynamics with the way Deontay has always knocked guys out.
“He has a long resume of knocking guys out cold. That didn’t happen overnight. I haven’t seen Francis Ngannou enough in a boxing ring to think his power comes close to Deontay Wilder’s. I just haven’t.”
Interestingly, Fury has previously shared the same sentiment, telling reporter Charlie Parsons than “The Bronze Bomber” had more power in his punches than “The Predator.”
Tyson Fury says that Deontay Wilder hits harder than Francis Ngannou “by a mile”
“Ngannou is a big puncher, but I wasn’t really troubled by any of his punches. It wasn’t like he was dynamite and every time he hit me I was wobbled. Just one shot to the back of the head and that… pic.twitter.com/cgtY5kAe0P
Following his return to MMA at PFL’s Battle of the Giants in October, there has been a lot of conversation regarding what will be next for Francis Ngannou. His first-round finish over Renan Ferreira doesn’t leave a whole lot of interesting matchups for him in MMA but he does have the option of going back to boxing for his next contest.
“The Bronze Bomber” is still one of the biggest names in the heavyweight division but following his recent form, he would seemingly be a better opponent for Ngannou than the likes of Fury and Anthony Joshua. Wilder has not looked the same in his latest outings and losses against Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker and though it looked like he might retire, the knockout artist appears to be gearing up for one more.
In a recent interview with The Sports Daily, former world champion turned analyst Amir Khan said that he would pick Ngannou to win that fight if he does get booked to face Wilder next time out. Based on his back-to-back losses, Khan isn’t sure whether Wilder has the same hunger anymore and getting in the ring with Ngannou is a dangerous prospect to begin with.
“Wilder’s last fight was really bad. You always look at the last fight and Wilder is done to be honest with you. I like Wilder but Ngannou has the power to hurt him.
“Ngannou is not the best boxer but he put on a good fight against Fury and got knocked out against AJ. Ngannou is going to win that fight. Unless Wilder comes in as a different fighter with that fire in his belly.”
Not only was Ngannou coming off his first knockout loss where he was stopped by Anthony Joshua in his second boxing match, the former UFC heavyweight champion was motivated to return to competition in the memory of his late son Kobe. Getting his hand raised in the PFL by any means neccesary was his primary focus but after dominating Ferreira and finishing him in the first round, there isn’t a clear next challenge for him in MMA.
Even with a record of 0-2, there are still some big fights left for Ngannou in the boxing world and though it might not be on the same level as his fights with Tyson Fury or Joshua, a meeting with Deontay Wilder would still be a big draw even if both men are coming off of knockout losses in the ring.
Wilder was finished in the fifth round by Zhilei Zhang in June in what looked like could be the final outing of his 48-fight career. “The Bronze Bomber” recently revealed in an interview with TMZ that he’s working towards a return after taking some time off.
“The best is yet to come, I always say that. We’re still going, we’re still here, you know what I mean we just getting things together man. I’m just handling a lot of things, I had a lot of outside distractions that I had to get rid of.”
Wilder also spoke about the potential of facing Ngannou next time out, sending his potential opponent a message of support after the difficult year he has gone through.
“Even since I’ve been off and stuff like that, it’s been a lot of offers coming in, a lot of things, different countries and stuff like that and even with Francis, what’s up brother. I hope everything’s going good for you man and I’m sorry for your loss. I can only imagine what it’s like to lose a child man, I never hope to even feel that feeling of it but I wish, I hope life is going beautifully for you bro and yeah, that’s a conversation I’m still looking to getting in the mix and talk about.”
Deontay Wilder suffered his second consecutive loss in Riyadh after he was stopped by Zhilei Zhang in the fifth round.
“Big Bang” landed a huge right hand as Wilder looked to land one of his own, spinning “The Bronze Bomber” around before Zhang followed up with another shot that sent him to the canvas.
The main event win for Zhang made it a clean sweep for Frank Warren and Team Queensbury in their 5 v 5 clash with Matchroom and Eddie Hearn.
It also means that Wilder has lost four of his last five, beating Robert Helenius in between his losses to Zhang and Joseph Parker and back-to-back defeats at the hands of Tyson Fury.
Many have suggested that this could be the end for Wilder, who was undefeated at 42-0-1 until the rematch with Fury.
— Spinnin Backfist (@SpinninBackfist) June 2, 2024
Boxing Fans Call For Deontay Wilder To Retire Following KO Loss
Wilder may only have four losses on his record but he looks a significantly different fighter in his last few performances following his consecutive defeats to “The Gypsy King”.
After he was stopped for the third time in his career, the boxing world weighed in with their thoughts on the fight and what should be next for Wilder after another tough result.
It’s time to officially retire. Wilder left his mark on the sport.
UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou has revealed another pillar that could stand in the way of a potential contract extension with the UFC.
Not many heavyweight fights have had stakes as high as the upcoming unification title fight between Ngannou and Ciryl Gane. Without even delving into the Cameroonian’s contractual status, an enticing backstory has always existed: ‘Coach Fernand Lopez brings a new threat to take down his former student-turned-foe…’
Ngannou Won’t Let The UFC Stand In The Way Of His Boxing Aspirations
With the January 22 headliner marking the final appearance on Ngannou’s contract should he be defeated by his French heavyweight rival, the build-up to the first pay-per-view of 2022 has largely surrounded the public feud and negotiations between the titleholder, his management, and MMA’s premier organization.
During an interview with TMZ Sports, Ngannou reiterated his intention to try his hand at boxing, a future venture he’s consistently expressed his desire to pursue. Hoping to see how his power crosses over into the squared circle, the powerhouse suggested he wants to test himself against two of the top heavyweight boxers in the world.
“Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder. I would like to test myself to that level. It’s not the same sport, although I’m the champion, I’m in the top in this division. At the end of the day, it’s just about like trained hands, trained punches, having a good delivery system to produce bombs, and I’m sure that if I deliver my own punch, it’s pretty good, I can make some damage.”
With that in mind, Ngannou won’t be letting his UFC career hamper his ambitions in the ring. If he’s to re-sign with the promotion in the coming weeks, “The Predator” wants the option to transition to boxing to be a part of any new deal, which is a seemingly ambitious ask given White’s reluctance to allow his athletes to compete elsewhere.
“It’s always been down the line. This is something I’m not taking my eyes off of,” Ngannou said. “It’s gonna happen, either way. Even if, when the UFC and I finalize a deal, the boxing part has to be into it because I can’t see myself retire without boxing.” (h/t LowKick MMA)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CX1cUuqICq6/
Despite his uncertain future and ongoing negotiations with the UFC, not to mention his apparent increasing boxing ambitions, Ngannou will need to have his focus streamlined on the immediate task in front of him. That’s to unify the heavyweight belts by stalling the surge of undefeated interim champion Gane.
Beyond that, not much is known about who Ngannou could face and whether he will re-sign with the UFC, but what appears certain is we’ll be seeing the Cameroonian behemoth inside the squared circle before his career is done.
How do you think Francis Ngannou would fare in the ring against Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder?
Earlier this year, Tyson Fury closed the book on his trilogy against Deontay Wilder with a second stoppage. But on this day three years ago, there were still plenty of questions about their rivalry, including a little matter of a 10 count. The following article is presented in its original, unaltered form, courtesy of the MMA News Archives.
On This Day Three Years Ago…
[ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED DECEMBER 5, 2018, 11:10 AM]
Over the weekend, Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury put on a tremendous heavyweight contest. Wilder defended his WBC heavyweight title against “The Gypsy King” in a 12 round war. “The Bronze Bomber” was able to knock Fury down twice during the contest despite getting out-boxed by the Englishman for most of the fight. However, the second knockdown Wilder scored in the 12th round was a highly controversial one.
Wilder obliterated Fury, who went down on his back to the canvas, seemingly unconscious. However, somehow, Fury mustered up the strength to get back to his feet and finish the fight. The result was a split draw decision on the judges’ scorecards. Recently, Wilder took to Twitter to make the case that he should’ve actually been declared the winner via knockout.
He shared the following video of his knockdown of Fury, which included a 10-count timer. In the video, Fury doesn’t make it up in time to beat the count:
“Keep the vids coming for The Sick MFs That hate I won, The Blind MFs that can’t face reality and the MFs that just don’t want to see US Succeed”
Former mixed martial arts (MMA) referee Big Jon McCarthy took to Twitter to explain the situation:
“Yes sir, I can explain it to you. You need to understand the mechanics for a knockdown which is as soon as the referee calls the fighter down the time keeper starts a count. The referee moves the standing fighter away towards a neutral corner and then picks up the count from the timekeeper at we will say somewhere around 3 or 4.
“The referee then continues his count up to 10 if the fighter is still down. It is a “10” count not 10 seconds of time. The referee was perfect in this situation. Hope this helps. It was a great fight, wasn’t it”
1/2 Yes sir, I can explain it to you. You need to understand the mechanics for a knockdown which is as soon as the referee calls the fighter down the time keeper starts a count. The referee moves the standing fighter away towards a neutral corner and then picks up the count from https://t.co/OWVqdORZuS
2/2 the timekeeper at we will say somewhere around 3 or 4. The referee then continues his count up to 10 if the fighter is still down. It is a “10” count not 10 seconds of time. The referee was perfect in this situation. Hope this helps. It was a great fight, wasn’t it https://t.co/OWVqdORZuS
