Ten toes down: Can Francis Ngannou help Deontay Wilder find his footing again? P3
- Shidonna Raven
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
This Article has been curated by UDBN
September 2, 2025
Source: Boxing Scene
Since those days, he has dabbled as a professional boxer with varying degrees of success. His debut, you might remember, was against Tyson Fury in 2023 and the only thing more shocking than the fight taking place was the fact that Ngannou managed to go 10 rounds, drop Fury in the third, and almost cause one of boxing’s great upsets.
After that, with Ngannou apparently a natural, everybody got a little carried away. Ngannou himself got carried away, his supporters got carried away, and those who know better got carried away. This collective hysteria then resulted in Ngannou staying at the Fury level – near enough anyway – and fighting Anthony Joshua in 2024. Yet this time, in Joshua, Ngannou encountered a man who possessed a lot of fear Fury perhaps lacked and who was intent on putting Ngannou back in his box. This Joshua did, too, stopping him rather brutally in just two rounds.
Now, 18 months on, Ngannou’s boxing dream has seemingly faded, though it is not yet over. In fact, such is the welcoming nature of the sport, and such is Ngannou’s profile, the Cameroonian has managed to retain some relevance and marketability despite holding a 0-2 record. Rather than rebuild, or even just win a fight, Ngannou is still viewed as a heavyweight attraction who can go straight back into a big fight against an opponent of similar standing to Fury and Joshua. He has the name, after all. He has the style. He has the punch. Get him in a ring, or a cage, and Ngannou boils boxing down to its key ingredients, thus appealing to casual fans, and promises only action and entertainment. This alone is enough to ensure the 38-year-old will be invited back time and time again. This alone is enough to have Deontay Wilder licking his lips and seeing in Ngannou a man after his own heart.
Indeed, given the way they both operate, and their mutual desperation, it seems an obvious fight to make, Wilder vs. Ngannou. If both are in it only for quick flings, and only to make lots of money, they could do a lot worse than look to one another to fulfil their darkest desires.
Certainly, it appears that the wheels are in motion. On August 18, speaking on The Ariel Helwani Show, Ngannou said, “We haven’t engaged personally. But it’s going to be soon. We are setting some things up. I am training.” Asked then if Wilder would be his number one choice of opponent, Ngannou responded: “I would say so.”
As for Wilder, rather than ridicule the idea of fighting a 0-2 novice from MMA, he seems open to it. In a post on social media on August 30, he captioned a short video clip of him throwing his right hand at a pad with the following: “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.”
As much a come-get-me plea as a threat, Wilder knows enough about the boxing business to know that Ngannou might be able to help him get back on his feet. If, for instance, Wilder wants to now make a splash in a fight more meaningful, commercially, than the low-key one against Herndon in June, maybe Ngannou is his man and maybe that’s a good next step. After all, knocking out the former UFC star helped restore Anthony Joshua’s shattered confidence last year, so why shouldn’t the same be true for Wilder?
Better yet, in the hefty shape of Ngannou, he has someone designed almost to his exact specifications – someone built the way he would want them to be built. That doesn’t mean he carries no danger, he does, but of being befuddled or outboxed by Ngannou there is very little chance from Wilder’s point of view. In that respect, he can at least rest easy. All he must do is make a fist, wind back his arm, and throw the arm straight at a static target: big head, broad shoulders, one-track mind. All he must do is do what he has always done. Perhaps the one thing he can still do.
We Got that FAN-Appeal | Undisputed Boxing News
Marcus Doggett, Chief Editor
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