Deontay Wilder shares final verdict on potential Francis Ngannou fight under boxing or MMA rules

The Francis Ngannou vs. Deontay Wilder fight is still possible. 'The Bronze Bomber' recently spoke to world-renowned combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani, where he expressed continued interest in facing the former UFC heavyweight champion in either boxing or MMA.

During his conversation with Helwani, the matchup with Ngannou was brought up, which is a fight that Saudi sports minister Turki Alalshikh is interested in booking. When asked by Helwani if it is a matchup that still interests him, Wilder made no mistake in expressing his desire to fight 'The Predator.'

"I mean, I don't know how much I can say, but me and Francis... that fight always be... it still comes up. It came up two more times not too long ago, to be exact. Not too far, maybe a couple of months ago. Not too far for me, but we're just trying to figure out how they want the segment to go with me and Ngannou. I'm definitely interested, he is as well. I guess it's just a matter of, just a time. Time is always the matter of all things."

Check out Deontay Wilder's thoughts on fighting Francis Ngannou:

At the moment, Wilder is gearing up for a boxing match against the relatively unknown Tyrrell Herrndon, who he faces on June 27. The bout is thought of as something of a layup for 'The Bronze Bomber,' who still has a fight with Ngannou in mind.

Unfortunately, the bout may no longer have its previous luster, due in large part to Wilder's recent rough patch. Once one of the most feared punchers in boxing's heavyweight division, Wilder has found himself on a 1-4 run, including back-to-back stoppage losses to Tyson Fury.

His latest losing streak, split by a lone knockout win over Robert Helenius, saw him get outworked by Joseph Parker and knocked out by Zhilei Zhang.

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Francis Ngannou's boxing excursions haven't led to any professional success

Francis Ngannou's first dip in the professional boxing world was in a highly anticipated crossover bout with the then undefeated Tyson Fury. In one of the more stunning performances of his career, 'The Predator' knocked 'The Gypsy King' down, fighting well enough that many felt he had done enough to win.

Unfortunately, the judges awarded Fury the win via split-decision, sparking robberty claims. However, his subsequent bout against Anthony Joshua was a complete disaster that saw Ngannou suffer two crushing knockdowns before a brutal knock out ended the bout in round two.