Deontay Wilder has thrown down the gauntlet to Francis Ngannou, answering the former UFC heavyweight champion’s recent callout with a fiery Instagram post. “Respect, but I’m ten toes down. No fear, no fold, no fake… Always ready, always solid. Step in the ring and you’ll see what that means,” Wilder wrote, tagging Ngannou directly.
The exchange follows Ngannou’s own post last week, in which he tagged Wilder alongside a video of him working the mitts and declared: “It’s time to finally settle the debate.” Wilder backed up his social media message earlier Saturday in an interview, saying: “I think it’s a helluva fight… Let’s make it happen.”
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At 39, Wilder is chasing spectacle and big-money matchups. After suffering a brutal loss to Zhilei Zhang in 2024 - his fourth defeat in five fights - he returned last month to stop Tyrrell Anthony Herndon. He has also shown interest in facing Anthony Joshua or even Jake Paul, but Ngannou now seems firmly in his sights.
Ngannou, 38, has boxed twice since leaving the UFC, pushing Tyson Fury to a split decision in 2023 before being stopped by Joshua in 2024. Despite his 0-2 record, his size, power, and crossover appeal make him a viable pay-per-view attraction.
Whether in South Korea, as previously floated by Wilder’s camp, or on another global stage, Wilder–Ngannou offers the kind of heavyweight shootout that blends intrigue, danger, and box office power. Both men promise knockouts - only the stage and the paycheck remain to be decided.
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