Fury Rematch, Wilder ‘On The Wish List’

Ngannou sounds ready to step back into the boxing ring if he gets past Renan Ferreira in his MMA return on October 19th.

Francis Ngannou is still interested in boxing Deontay Wilder in the future following his mixed martial arts (MMA) showdown against 2023 PFL heavyweight tournament winner Renan Ferreira on October 19th.

Ngannou hasn’t fought in MMA since leaving the UFC in January 2023. He lost a controversial split decision to Tyson Fury for his boxing debut in October 2023, followed by a stunning KO loss to Anthony Joshua in March 2024. A month later he went through the unimaginable when his 15-month-old son Kobe died, leaving many wondering how he can possibly bounce back six months later at the ‘Battle of the Giants’ in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Ferreira will be a tough test, but tough tests have never deterred “The Predator.” In a new interview with TalkSPORT, Ngannou sounded eager to step back into the ring against heavy hitting knockout artist Deontay Wilder.

“Absolutely. I would love that fight,” he said. “Pure boxing, don’t be delusional here. That’s where we both stand a chance. But if we go MMA only one man stands a chance. It’s a fight that I want, I always wanted that fight. At some point we had a discussion that didn’t go too far, but we wanted to make this fight happen.”

When Ngannou first left the UFC, it seemed like he’d get stonewalled out of boxing. Few top names were willing to take him seriously, but Deontay Wilder opened the door to a potential boxing match and even a follow-up bout in MMA. Nothing came of the discussion, but after two disappointing losses of his own, “The Bronze Bomber” could be the perfect next opponent for Ngannou in boxing.

The former UFC heavyweight champion isn’t limiting himself to just Wilder, though.

“And even more boxers,” Franny declared. “Usyk? Why not everyone. I have the Fury rematch then Deontay Wilder on the wish list.”

First Ngannou will have to re-establish his winning ways in the cage. But it’s clear that after that he wants to focus on boxing where the big names and even bigger paychecks reside.