Deontay Wilder has ruled out facing one fighter in particular next as he prepares to make his return to the ring.
The former long-reigning WBC heavyweight champion made his return to the ring back in June, stopping fellow countryman Tyrrell Herndon in the seventh round of their non-title clash at the Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas.
Wilder’s last ring appearance before facing Herndon came against China’s Zhilei ‘Big Bang’ Zhang, who stopped the American in the fifth round of their showdown at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh last June.
As ‘The Bronze Bomber’ gears up to make his 50th ring appearance as a professional, the 39-year-old’s long-term adviser Shelly Finkel has issued an update on Wilder’s current situation.
In an interview with World Boxing News, Finkel ruled out a fight between ‘The Bronze Bomber’ and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou taking place before the end of the year.
“Deontay Wilder will not be facing Francis Ngannou in 2025. That fight is not happening this year.”
Finkel did confirm that Wilder will be returning before the end of the year however, before targeting a ‘big fight’ for 2026.
“The plan is for Deontay to have another fight before the end of this year. After that, we will be looking for a big fight in 2026. We’d be looking at a fight with Anthony Joshua or Usyk, something like that.”
Ngannou recently made a call-out to Wilder on social media, but it appears that the 38-year-old Cameroonian will have to wait for a potential showdown with the former WBC heavyweight champion.
