Francis Ngannou has thrown down the gauntlet, and Deontay Wilder has picked it up.
The former UFC heavyweight champion called for a fight with Wilder earlier this year during an apperance on the Ariel Helwani Show.
He then doubled down on his challenge by uploading a video of himself hammering the pads, with the caption: “It’s time to finally settle the debate, [Deontay Wilder].”
Wilder responded in kind with some training footage of his own.
Underneath a video of him winging haymakers at the mitts, Wilder wrote: “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, [Francis Ngannou].”
The debate in question is, of course, who hits harder.
Ngannou has long been hailed as the heaviest-handed MMA fighter on the planet, while Wilder once held the mantle in boxing before his recent decline.
How does Deontay Wilder and Francis Ngannou’s recent form compare?
Wilder is currently rebuilding his career after suffering back-to-back defeats to Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ returned to action in June, stopping the unheralded Tyrell Herndon inside seven rounds in a performance that left a lot to be desired.
He is now expected to fight once more at the back end of the year, before potentially squaring off against Ngannou in 2026.
Ngannou, meanwhile, hasn’t set foot in the squared circle since falling to a devastating knockout defeat at the hands of Anthony Joshua in March 2024.
Prior to that, he lost a very tight split decision to Tyson Fury in his boxing debut in October 2023.
More recently, ‘The Predator’ made a triumphant return to MMA after a two and a half year hiatus last October.
Ngannou knocked out Renan Ferreira in the opening stanza at PFL ‘Battle of the Giants’ to claim the company’s inaugural Super Fights heavyweight title.
However, a lack of star power in PFL’s glamour division means Ngannou is likely to compete in boxing next.