The last time Francis Ngannou entered the boxing ring, what unfolded was nothing short of a brutal awakening. In March 2024, Saudi Arabia witnessed Anthony Joshua systematically dismantle the PFL heavyweight champion in just two rounds—a clinical destruction that sent shockwaves through combat sports. The man who had nearly dethroned Tyson Fury just months earlier found himself counted out on the canvas, his aura of invincibility shattered under the Englishman’s precision punches.

For many fighters, such a devastating and public dismantling would signal the end of boxing aspirations. But Ngannou, whose life story is defined by overcoming impossible odds—from the sand mines of Cameroon to UFC championship glory to groundbreaking free agency—has never followed conventional wisdom. ‘The Predator’ remained resolute amid the ruins of his second professional boxing match. He promised a return to the squared circle, despite critics and medical professionals alike questioning the wisdom of continuing this cross-sport experiment.

“Sorry guys, I let you all down. Today was a bad day in the office, but tomorrow will be another day. Thank you all for the love,” Ngannou wrote on social media after the Joshua shellacking. But most thought the Cameroonian was just putting on a brave face and won’t actually be back and risk humiliating himself again. However, that is apparently not the case.

“I will do boxing next. I want to. I’m not done with boxing. It’s not that MMA is easy. It’s the sport that I understand better and I have more experience in. But I say go for boxing,” Ngannou said a few days ago. As for the opponent, ‘The Predator’ is aiming for knockout artist and former champion, Deontay Wilder, since “there’s an 80% chance that somebody will go to sleep” in their fight.

However, UFC commentator and former champion Daniel Cormier fears fighting Wilder may be a bad idea for Ngannou.

Why? Well, because of Wilder’s ‘eraser’. “I always said and I will never change this, I thought that the safest fight was Anthony Joshua because he can be a bit hesitant at times or in most cases. And I thought the most dangerous fight for Francis was Deontay Wilder because Deontay Wilder, who I was on the Olympic team with, is more free and he’s also less technical. That’s the nice way to say it. Deontay Wilder’s boxing style- he’s less technical so the punches may be loopy, and he may throw them from odd angles. But he has this unbelievable power that allows you to go to sleep,” Cormier said on his official YouTube channel.

What ‘DC’ is trying to say with the ‘less technical’ point is that Wilder isn’t the most technically correct boxer. Or as legendary boxing coach Teddy Atlas put it, “He [Wilder] didn’t know how to fight. He never really got taught, or at least he didn’t learn the things that you need to learn to be more than a big banger.”

But what Wilder does have is a devastating right hand—what Teddy Atlas calls “the eraser” because it wipes out all of his technical flaws the moment it lands. Not only does it compensate for any mistakes, but it also has the power to separate opponents from their consciousness. This is precisely why Ngannou is eager to face him. The big question now is—will Wilder accept the challenge and step into the ring with ‘The Predator’?

What did Deontay Wilder say about a potential Francis Ngannou boxing match?

“Even since I’ve been off, there’s been a lot of offers coming in. A lot of things in different countries and stuff like that. Even with Francis, hope everything is going good for you,” Wilder told TMZ Sports in November last year. This means that Wilder, at least until late last year, was open to fighting Ngannou in a boxing match.

But in bad news for ‘The Predator’, he isn’t underestimating the MMA champ. “Any fight is competitive. When you’ve got a man that’s got two hands and two feet and he’s got a heart, that will to win, you’ve got competition,” Wilder added when pressed on the Ngannou matchup.

And in further good news for the fans, Francis Ngannou wants to fight Wilder to prove he is the biggest puncher in all of combat sports. “Deep inside me there is a little bit of ego, like I know I hit harder,” Ngannou told ‘Sportsbook Review’ in a recent interview. Of course, Wilder himself has quite an ego and has shown he isn’t afraid to get knocked out.

All of which promises an electrifying, action-packed fight. While Cormier may be concerned for Ngannou, the fans cannot be happier. What do you think about Daniel Cormier’s take on the Wilder-Ngannou boxing matchup?