Deontay Wilder was in attendance at last night’s PFL event, there primarily to discuss the ongoing possibility of a fight between himself and MMA star Francis Ngannou. And Wilder, who has been said to be “the solid frontrunner to fight Ngannou,” says he is absolutely serious when he says he is willing to have two fights with the former MMA heavyweight champion – fight-one in the ring, fight-two in the cage.
Ngannou, as fans know, has for some time been talking about his dream of testing himself in the boxing ring against a big name, and now it seems Wilder could be that big name. And Wilder says he wants to make it fair by crossing over to Ngannou’s sport after Ngannou has crossed over into his.
“I thought about this many times,” Wilder said as he began speaking with the broadcasters of last night’s PFL event. “Even with Ngannou, we were talking about getting together. You always see the MMA guys crossing over, but you never see the boxers crossing over, so I said I am willing to make it more interesting for the fans and just the whole combat family as a whole. I said why don’t you come to my backyard, and after we handle business, I can come to yours and crossover and I really mean it.”
Wilder, last seen blasting out Robert Helenius in a round in October of last year, added how people “will be very impressed on what I can do in my abilities to be here,” suggesting he strongly believes has what it takes to make a successful switch to MMA, if only for one fight.
When Wilder says we never see boxers crossing over, that’s not strictly true, as Ray Mercer and, more recently, James Toney each engaged in an MMA fight (Mercer blowing away Tim Sylvia, Toney being easily beaten by Randy Couture). Still, Wilder would easily be the biggest name boxer to make the crossover. If it actually happens there will surely be big fan interest.
Wilder would of course be a big favourite to win a boxing match with Ngannou, while Ngannou would be a hefty favourite to get his revenge over Wilder in a cage fight.
“I’m willing to go in the octagon as well as the original plans, but you know, the fans want to see it,” Wilder said. “I want to be a part of it. So let’s give them what they want to see.”
Wilder Vs. Ngannou in the ring, followed by Wilder Vs. Ngannou in the cage. Don’t try and tell me you wouldn’t tune in, to both fights!
