Former heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder has plans to fight twice more before the end of the year. If he has his way, both fights may be against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou. While in Saudia Arabia for the Jake Paul-Tommy Fury fight, Wilder said that he’s actively pursuing a two-fight deal with Ngannou.
“Ngannou is a real discussion. It’s a real discussion, we’re trying to do a two-fight deal. One maybe here and the other one in Africa,” he told Fight Hub TV.
“So that’ll be the 50th anniversary of Muhammad Ali.”
Following a crushing defeat against Tyson Fury in October 2021, Wilder returned to the ring in October 2022 and knocked out Robert Helenius. In 2023, he said that he hopes to fight two times, if not three times. However, he is running out of time to make that happen.
“I’m maybe fighting between May, June, and December,” he told Fight Hub TV when asked when he will return to the ring.
If a fight with Ngannou does fall through, he may look to Andy Ruiz as a potential opponent. He may also look to fight fellow former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in a long-awaited showdown.
“All fighters are a possibility. Ain’t nobody out, we’re having discussions with everybody, all the fighters, especially fighters at the top. Everybody in the discussion, so I want fighters to know that,” Wilder said when asked if he would fight Joshua this year.
“Unfortunately, the business of boxing is what it is, and sometimes it gets slow but when it gets moving, it gets to moving. And right now it’s just a process of getting things in order, locations, dates, and opponents, and getting everything together. So that takes time but know that no fighter is safe.”
