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Former Rival Wants Deontay Wilder to Focus on Exhibition Fights

Originally posted on Fights Around The World
By Joshua Ben Joseph | Last updated Nov 23, 2024 4:25 PM ET

Deontay Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) is “finished,” according to his former rival.

‘The Bronze Bomber’ recently called out Francis Ngannou (0-2) for a long-awaited showdown. While the duo has been in talks since last October, with little to no sign of the fight reaching fruition. In the meantime, Wilder suffered two losses against Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker. With his losses piling up, Wilder’s former rival, Bermane Stiverne, feels like it’s time for him to hang up his professional gloves.

Talking to Baccarat, Stiverne mentioned that Wilder and Ngannou would only end up fighting if it came with a good payday.

“At this point, it would only be for money because I don’t see the sense of these two fighting each other apart from the economics of it. After Francis Ngannou fought Anthony Joshua, it was a hard fight for him against someone who was top (level). People wanted to see what was going to happen because he did good against Tyson Fury,” he said.

He further stated that after the two losses, it did not make sense for Ngannou to fight a top-level fighter. Meanwhile, as he pondered on the possibility of Wilder and Ngannou, he said that it would be ideal for Wilder to retire from the sport professionally.

“Boxing is a lot different these days. Mike Tyson is 58 and returned to the ring so it’s very different compared to my era. That’s why Deontay can look at fighting Francis Ngannou next, and why not?” he said. “But as far as competing at the top level, being in the world’s top 10 and fighting for world titles, I don’t think there’s any chance of that, and he shouldn’t be fighting (at that level) as it seems like he is finished. You can now fight in exhibitions and different types of fights instead, and that’s what he should do.”

Stiverne faced Wilder twice, initially losing his WBC heavyweight title to him in 2015. He fought for the title once again in 2017 but lost to Wilder via a first-round KO.

“Nothing Has Changed”

Ngannou vs. Wilder has been a highly anticipated affair in the world of boxing. Wilder’s callout has certainly piqued a newfound interest in the matchup. However, according to Ngannou, there has been no progress.

“Yes, I mean, since we spoke, nothing has changed. In my vision, if I only have a couple of fights left, I would like that to be one of them. No, [I may not compete in boxing next]. I’m going to wait a couple of months to see if the PFL pulls something up,” he said while talking to TMZ.

This article first appeared on Fights Around The World and was syndicated with permission.

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