Deontay Wilder opens as betting favorite to face Francis Ngannou next after Tyson Fury fight
Former WBC heavyweight champion, Deontay Wilder had been linked with a potential boxing fight with Francis Ngannou prior to the Cameroonian’s professional boxing bow against common-foe, Tyson Fury over the course of the weekend. And in the aftermath of the clash, the former titleholder has opened as the betting favorite to draw Ngannou next.
Deontay Wilder, a former undisputed WBC heavyweight champion, has thrice shared the boxing ring with Fury – fighting to an initial draw in his title defense, before dropping his crown in a rematch, and failing to regain the throne in a trilogy fight against the Morecambe.
Snapping his hiatus from the sport back in November of last year, the Tuscaloosa native, returned triumphantly with a blistering first round KO win over Finnish heavyweight, Robert Helenius in a headlining clash in Brooklyn, New York a year ago.
And sure to have one eye firmly placed on a potential future fight with former UFC heavyweight champion, Ngannou off the back of the Batié native’s debut against the above-mentioned, Fury, Deontay Wilder has opened ahead of the likes of Anthony Joshua, Zhilei Zhang, Oleksandr Usyk, and Dillian Whyte as the betting favorite as low as +200 to fight Ngannou next.
For fans and punters hoping to place a bet on potential fights for Ngannou in a much-rumored sophomore boxing outing, a host of markets and bookies are already offering odds on the ex-UFC star’s potential second ring walk.
Making his first professional boxing appearance over the course of the weekend in his 10 round clash with WBC best, Fury, Ngannou shocked the boxing and mixed martial arts worlds alike in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia – forcing the former the distance over the course of their drawn-out clash.
Launching a massive surprise and most certainly the biggest blow of the night – beyond an illegal elbow strike from Fury which went unnoticed by officials, Ngannou sprung with a huge left hook knockdown in the third round, sending the Morecambe native to the canvas with a massive counter shot in close in the pocket.
Reportedly ramping up mixed martial arts training in recent months following a couple of spectator appearances at PFL (Professional Fighters League) events in the last year, the above-mentioned, Deontay Wilder is revered as one of the most dangerous punchers in the history of professional boxing, landing a whopping 42 knockout victories from 43 total professional wins.
Winning the undisputed WBC heavyweight title with a 2015 win over Bermane Stiverne, Deontay Wilder would go on to successfully retain the sanctioning body’s title on 10 separate and consecutive occasions.
Over the course of that run – which included a draw with Fury and a rematch knockout win over Stiverne, Deontay Wilder knocked out names such as Eric Molina, Gerald Washingon, Luis Ortiz twice, and Dominic Breazeale during his championship run to boot.
If matched with Ngannou in the future, Deontay WIlder faces a similarly devastating knockout threat standing opposite him in the form of the Cameroonian, who dispatched two-time foe, Stipe Miocic with a brutal rematch KO win back in 2021 to mint himself as the UFC champion.
Landing 12 knockout wins of his own during the course of his 20 fight professional career, Batié knockout savage, Ngannou racked up stoppage wins via strikes over the likes of former UFC champions, Andrei Arlovski, Junior dos Santos, and Cain Velasquez during his run – which followed a high-profile, highlight-reel first round bludgeonding of storied mixed martial arts icon, Alistair Overeem.
In his most recent MMA fight to boot, Ngannou successfully unified the heavyweight crowns with a unanimous decision win over the then-undefeated and interim champion, Ciryl Gane in January of last year at UFC 270, demonstrating his often-overlooked wrestling game to boot.
