Francis Ngannou vs. Deontay Wilder3 of 4Richard Pelham/Getty ImagesQuoting Jim Lampley in Ocean's Eleven, Ngannou and Wilder have spent parts of the last several years in an intermittent "dance around and toward each other." "He's acknowledged what he wants to do. I've acknowledged that I'm serious, willing, ready and able to do what it takes to get this fight." Ngannou went the distance with then-champ Tyson Fury in 2023 but was squashed in two rounds by Anthony Joshua five months later. Wilder, meanwhile, was 1-4 with three KO losses from 2020 to 2024, but returned for a seventh-round TKO over Tyrrell Herndon in June.