Francis Ngannou wants the big names of the heavyweight division. Tyson Fury? Check, with Ngannou dropping Fury and also dropping a close, split decision that plenty of people felt should have gone his way. Anthony Joshua? Check, the fight to happen in Riyadh on March 8. Deontay Wilder? In the future, Ngannou sure hopes so.
Speaking with Sky Sports’ MMA Club, former UFC heavyweight king Ngannou, 0-1 as a pro boxer, says he still very much wants to fight Wilder, to get “that name on my record,” this after Wilder’s shockingly listless, losing showing against Joseph Parker. 37 year old Ngannou says if Wilder, 43-3-1(42) “can get it together,” the fight can still happen.
“I’m here for the boxing career and there I have a lot of challenges, a lot of names,” Ngannou said. “For example, the top three guys that I’ve always had are Fury, Joshua, Wilder. Wilder better get it together because I’m not done, I want that name on my record. Two months ago, we were talking about fighting Deontay Wilder in the PFL (Professional Fighters League). The landscape can change quick. Everything is possible.”
Reports did indeed say that Wilder, prior to the upset loss to Parker, was seriously considering fighting Ngannou two times, once in boxing, once under ‘mixed rules.’ Now, if 38 year old Wilder does come back, if he wants to come back, that fight with Ngannou is still there for him. For even if Ngannou were to lose to AJ but in a competitive fight, and if Wilder had by this time resumed his own career with a stirring KO win, even over a B-level type foe, the hype would still be able to be generated for an Ngannou-Wilder fight.
Bottom line, this fight would sell, as it would be bombs away with fight fans knowing as much. For now, however, we expect Ngannou to be fully focused on the Joshua fight. And we have yet to hear directly from Wilder when it comes to just what his plans for the near future are.
But again, a fight between Wilder and Ngannou would sell, no doubt about it. And you just know you’d tune in if the fight did happen!