Francis Ngannou is targeting a future fight with Deontay Wilder after telling the struggling American heavyweight to ‘get it together’ after his loss to Joseph Parker last year.
Wilder looks like a broken man after he was comprehensively outclassed by the Kiwi fighter, who earned a unanimous points victory over the former heavyweight world champion at the Day of Reckoning event in Saudi Arabia.
The Bronze Bomber was hoping to cruise past Parker to set up a fight against Joshua – but that honour has since fallen to Ngannou himself after booking an epic showdown against the Brit for March 8 in the Middle East.
While Ngannou is enjoying riding the crest of a wave – having fought Tyson Fury in a lucrative bout last October that saw him knock the WBC world title holder to the canvas before losing on a split decision – he is also hungry to set up a date with Wilder in the near future too.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Ngannou said: ‘I’m here for the boxing career and there I have a lot of challenges, a lot of names. For example, the top three guys that I’ve always had are Fury, Joshua and Wilder,’
Francis Ngannou has targeted a future fight with Deontay Wilder despite his crushing defeat against Joseph Parker
First up Ngannou must focus on the challenge of Anthony Joshua, who he faces on March 8
‘Wilder better get it together because I’m not done, I want that name on my record.’
Wilder hinted that he could retire following his loss to Parker, saying ‘we’ll see what happens’ when asked about his future plans.
But Ngannou believes ‘everything is possible’ and referenced how there was recent talk of him taking on Wilder in the MMA arena.
‘Two months ago, we were talking about fighting Deontay Wilder in the PFL [Professional Fighters League]. The landscape can change quick. Everything is possible,’ he added.
Speaking after his fight against Parker, Wilder said: ‘We still have a little bit left, but I did a great job managing my money,’ he told DAZN Sports after the fight.
On whether a potential bout against Anthony Joshua could have been a distraction, he added: ‘A little bit. It was a lot of talk about a lot of things. We make no excuses. We’ll be back for sure.
The Bronze Bomber (pictured) hyped up a two-fight deal with Ngannou last year
‘We have a little bit more left. I’ve done a great job with managing my money and investing. I’m a happy fighter. I’ll be back soon and if not, it’s been a pleasure.’
Last year Wilder had hyped up a potential fight between himself and Ngannou.
‘Me and Francis have had discussions, we had meetings with both parties, as far as the team is concerned,’ he said. ‘So this is a real conversation that has been taking place, not only just amongst the combat … family, but amongst the teams as well, getting on the phone, everybody talking.
‘So this is something that can truly happen to him. So the best is yet to come overall. There’s so many things that I could say, so many things that I can try to put in words to say, but at the end of the day, we’ll see what happens when it happens.
‘That’s the best way I can [say it] to give people a peace of mind. These things are in discussion, but we’ll see what happens and when it happens, it’s gonna be amazing.’
