Deontay Wilder’s manager drops verdict on Francis Ngannou showdown

MMA champion Ngannou has called for a fight with Wilder... and the former heavyweight king’s team have now responded

Deontay Wilder’s manager Shelly Finkel has ruled out the possibility of the former heavyweight champion fighting Francis Ngannou this year.

Wilder made his return to boxing after successive defeats by Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang to knock out fellow American Tyrrell Herndon in June and is looking for his next opponent.

Ex-UFC heavyweight king Ngannou threw his hat into the ring during a recent appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, as he revealed he would like to face Wilder and was planning to reach out to him in the near future.

But Finkel has played down rumours that the mouthwatering showdown between two knockout specialists is close to being finalised.

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“Deontay Wilder will not be facing Francis Ngannou in 2025,” Finkel told World Boxing News. “That fight is not happening this year.”

Wilder will turn 40 in October but has not given up hope of becoming a two-time heavyweight champion after holding the WBC title between January 2015 and February 2020.

He won each of his first 40 fights, with 39 of those victories coming inside the distance, but has lost four of his last six contests.

Meanwhile, Ngannou has had two professional boxing bouts, losing a close decision to Tyson Fury before being brutally knocked out by Anthony Joshua last year.

The Cameroonian-born star still fancies another crack at boxing, though, and has his sights set on Wilder.

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But he may have to wait patiently for his opportunity, with Finkel insisting Wilder is focused on remaining active and taking the biggest fights possible against boxing’s elite heavyweights.

“The plan is for Deontay to have another fight before the end of this year,” Finkel explained. “After that, we will be looking for a big fight in 2026. We’d be looking at a fight with Anthony Joshua or [Oleksandr] Usyk, something like that.”

Wilder and Joshua have been linked with facing each other for almost a decade but the fight has never materialised. However, Finkel has now indicated it could be closer than ever.

Despite his indifferent recent form, Wilder remains one of the biggest names in the division and this could increase his chances of taking on undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk, whose next move is still unknown following his victory over Daniel Dubois at Wembley last month.

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