Former WBC heavyweight titleholder Deontay Wilder has said Francis Ngannou is in his sights, though Ngannou might not necessarily be next.
Wilder, a 39-year-old from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, improved to 44-4-1 (43 KOs) with a seventh-round stoppage of Tyrell Anthony Herndon in Wichita, Kansas, in June. He told “The Ariel Helwani Show” that he would fight again this year, possibly twice, and that he was open to fights with Ngannou and Anthony Joshua.
“It felt amazing,” he said of his return earlier this year. “It felt wonderful to get that hand raised. I’ve been dealing with a lot the last four-and-a-half years, especially when you’re dealing with betrayal.”
Wilder had been talking cryptically about people inside his camp abusing his trust, and he said that caused him to lose focus and “switch off when the bell rang” in his fights.
He suffered consecutive defeats to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang in 2023 and 2024 and was out for a year before the Herndon fight.
“Sometimes you have to look at losses as a blessing in disguise,” said Wilder. “I have the power to change my future and the power to change what is not going right in my life. … In the time that we have in this life, you can make a stand. And I made a stand. … I had to take a wellness check, get myself right, get myself together and here I am.”
Wilder then said he had around another decade of boxing ahead of him, partly because he started at just 21.
“I’ve got about 10 years left to do what I’ve got to do,” Wilder, a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist, said. “In the heavyweight division we can go a bit longer given that the bigger guys’ division is not packed like the smaller division so we don’t take the damage of the smaller guys. … The heavyweights, they always go a little bit longer. … I’m a veteran. I just got into the groove of things. I’m not burnt out at all. I feel great.”
Wilder said that talks with Ngannou were “warming up” between the camps.
“My interest is high. I’m ready to go, with anyone. If Francis is next, let it be.
“Francis’ got the heart, he’s an MMA champion, two strong guys and we want to test out our power against each other’s face. So I’m all in.”
