Could Francis Ngannou vs. Deontay Wilder Become Reality?

Ever since his shock departure from the UFC, Francis Ngannou has been consistently linked to the biggest names of boxing and the swap from the octagon to the squared circle seems inevitable at this stage. From Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora to most notably, Tyson Fury everyone wants a piece of the proverbial pie that is Francis Ngannou.

Deontay Wilder is the latest man to throw his name in contention stating in a recent interview that he would definitely be interested in a fight with Ngannou and even proposing a 2 fight deal that would see one contest take place in the boxing world before Wilder moves over to the MMA sphere. This would be a welcome change for many fans across the globe, who have recently been overwhelmed by the amount of MMA fighters making the transition over to boxing and if it went ahead would certainly gain major publicity.

🗣️ Deontay Wilder on a potential Francis Ngannou fight:

"Let's make it a two-fight deal. Everybody always comes to boxing, let's do this – you come to my house, I'll come to yours."

Will we see the Bronze Bomber in the cage?

🤔

— William Hill (@WilliamHill) February 10, 2023

This comes off the back of recent reports from ESPN’s Mike Coppinger that Wilder is unhappy with the negotiations of a bout between himself and former heavyweight champion, Andy Ruiz. The two had been ordered to fight by the WBC in a title eliminator which would see the winner taking on Tyson Fury for a crack at the WBC belt. Despite the two fighters both belonging to PBC which should make negotiations relatively straightforward, it appears Wilder is rather underwhelmed by the money he is being offered to fight Ruiz and both himself and his trainer Malik Scott have stated that they see potential in “bigger” matches. Inevitably, a scrap between Wilder and Ngannou would certainly draw more interest than Ruiz and would capture the imagination of both fans of Boxing and MMA alike.

Ngannou has been openly looking to take a plunge into the world of boxing and with Tyson Fury currently deep in negotiations with Oleksander Usyk it seems that Wilder would be the perfect high-profile opponent for the former UFC champ. Both men are regarded as the hardest-hitting fighters in their respective sports, both have a string of highlight reel knockouts that are incomparable only to one another. The fight sells itself and the bout would undoubtedly net both fighters a massive payday. This makes sense so do not be surprised if Ngannou vs Wilder is announced sooner rather than later.