Deontay Wilder has appeared to welcome a mouthwatering showdown with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
Ngannou revealed on The Ariel Helwani Show last month that he wants to return to boxing and named ex-heavyweight king Wilder as his primary target.
Wilder’s manager, Shelly Finkel, subsequently dismissed the chances of the fight happening in 2025 and suggested his man would be chasing bouts with Anthony Joshua or Oleksandr Usyk next year, but Wilder has now delivered his own message on social media.
Alongside a video of himself connecting with a huge right hand on the pads, Wilder wrote on Instagram: “Respect, but I’m ten toes down no fear, no fold, no fake… always ready, always solid.
“Step in the ring and you’ll see what that means @francisngannou.”
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Wilder made his comeback in June following a 12-month absence to stop fellow American Tyrrell Herndon inside seven rounds. Wilder had lost four of his previous five fights after holding the WBC heavyweight title between 2015 and 2020.
Meanwhile, Ngannou has only stepped into the boxing ring on two occasions after leaving the UFC. He was controversially outpointed by Tyson Fury in October 2023 before being brutally knocked out by Joshua five months later.
Ngannou returned to MMA to beat Brazil’s Renan Ferreira via first-round knockout last October but feels he has unfinished business with boxing.
Speaking about a potential fight with Wilder recently, Ngannou told journalist Helwani: “We haven’t engaged personally, but it’s going to be soon. We are setting some things up.”
Wilder now seems to have given the green light for the fight to happen as he looks to build momentum in his career after a difficult run.
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And it may happen sooner rather than later, with Wilder set to turn 40 next month. Time is not on his side, meaning the crossover contest could be arranged swiftly, as Wilder bids to make one final push to get back into the title mix before hanging up his gloves.
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