Deontay Wilder has reacted to the aftermath of Tyson Fury’s below-par performance against an impressive Francis Ngannou.
The ten-round heavyweight bout was seen as a foregone conclusion before the first bell, but Ngannou – who was making his pro debut – flipped the script and far exceeded expectations. His performance was bolstered by Fury not looking himself and struggling to gain control of the fight.
Wilder had previously backed a Ngannou knockout. Whilst that wasn’t the case, the MMA star did manage a knockdown – something Wilder has served Fury four times over the course of their trilogy.
Speaking to Blue Blood Sports TV, the former champion reacted to the fall out of the bout rather than the action itself, casting up his old allegations that Fury cheated in their fights.
“I didn’t even get to watch the fight, but of course I had a lot of texts and people calling me about it. Especially when he got dropped. After the fight a lot of people figuring out what was going on – ‘maybe he did cheat, maybe he did have something in his gloves.’ All those things coming up now. ‘He didn’t look himself, what happened? He lost.’ Everyone saying he lost, that’s all I got.
He then said that the heavyweight division was on its knees, and his return will help it rise again.
“People are saying Deontay we need you back, how boring boxing is and the heavyweight division is crumbling. They’re putting the Bat Signal out. I tell people I’m coming.”
Wilder’s trainer has reached out to Ngannou’s team about a potential fight, and it’s said that they’re even considering ‘mixed rules’ between boxing and MMA.
Fans of the heavyweight scene would rather he fight in boxing, and whilst an Anthony Joshua match-up still seems to be elusive, any top contender will do after over a year out of the ring.