Former WBC champion, Deontay Wilder, has announced that he and his team are in discussions with former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou, for a two-fight deal.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ held the world title for over five years, in which time he made ten (nine wins, one draw) title defences, with all nine wins coming by way of knockout.
In fact, bar Tyson Fury, Wilder has knocked out every opponent that he has faced, with a record of 43-0 (42KO’s) against fighters that are not ‘The Gypsy King’, making Wilder one of the most fearsome punchers in heavyweight history.
Meanwhile, Ngannou is recognised as one of the hardest hitters in the UFC, with sixteen of the Cameroonian’s seventeen wins coming by first or second round stoppage.
However, despite being the champion at the time, Ngannou decided to leave the UFC and has indicated that he wishes to try his hand in the squared circle.
In an interview with Fight Hub TV, Wilder confirmed that talks are ongoing between the pair and revealed the possible locations of the bouts for the two-fight deal.
“I may be fighting between May and June, and then December.”
“Ngannou is a real discussion, it is a real discussion. We are trying to do a two-fight deal, one maybe here [Saudi Arabia] and the other one in Africa.”
It is widely expected that Wilder’s first fight of the year will be against Andy Ruiz Jr in a final eliminator for the position as the WBC’s mandatory challenger.
This comes after Ruiz rejected the opportunity to fight Filip Hrgovic, which appeared to all-but-confirm that a fight with Wilder was around the corner.
As for the fight with Ngannou, Wilder has previously spoke of a two-fight deal and stated that the first fight would be under traditional boxing rules and the other would be a mixed martial arts contest. However, such details are yet to be confirmed.