Deontay Wilder issues brutal response to Chael Sonnen calling him a "coward" for boxing Francis Ngannou

Deontay Wilder has responded to Chael Sonnen calling him a coward after his challenge to Francis Ngannou. 'The Predator' was recently stripped of his UFC heavyweight title and granted his release from the promotion in January.

In the ensuing days, veteran boxer and former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder asserted that he'd like to fight Ngannou twice, once in boxing and then in MMA as well.

MMA fighter-turned-analyst Chael Sonnen subsequently took to his YouTube channel, wherein he labeled Wilder a coward. He suggested that 'The Bronze Bomber' was simply pretending to be courageous by offering to face Ngannou in MMA.

Chael Sonnen criticized Deontay Wilder for insinuating that he'd fight Francis Ngannou in boxing first and then in MMA. During a recent appearance on 78SPORTSTV, Wilder was asked for his response. After inquiring who Sonnen is, Wilder stated:

"When you're successful, you don't listen to the whispers of miserable people's cries. I don't listen to those things. As I've said, I've been traveling too much. I've been handling business. I have been feeding my family. I haven't been sitting around, worrying about the foolishness of the sounds of foolish people."

Noting that he isn't distracted or emotionally fazed by people's comments, Wilder added:

"For me, because I don't make no money off of foolishness, I don't entertain it... That's just another human being a miserable person. That's just what he feels."

Deontay Wilder jestingly opined that he should start a podcast and YouTube channel like Chael Sonnen and earn additional income. He highlighted that Sonnen's statements could be aimed at garnering clicks and attention.

Wilder clarified that he's open to facing Francis Ngannou in MMA first. He's even willing to have both fights contested in MMA or both in boxing. He is also open to having the MMA bout first, followed by the boxing match, depending on what Ngannou agrees with.

Watch Wilder's assessment at 1:00:40 in the video below:

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Francis Ngannou's response to Deontay Wilder's two-fight proposal

Francis Ngannou is expected to recover from his knee injury issues soon and make his boxing debut in July. Speaking of which, the heavyweight MMA great recently took to Twitter and appeared to accept Wilder's two-fight offer. 'The Predator' tweeted:

"Welcome to the free world @BronzeBomber. I hope you are a man of your word. See you soon"

Moreover, Ngannou, who's been scouting for a top-tier pugilist to face in his boxing debut, took a stinging jibe at Deontay Wilder. He seemingly implied that Wilder would lose his limbs if they were to clash in MMA. Replying to a fan's tweet, Ngannou further claimed that he looks forward to seeing whether 'The Bronze Bomber' is "a man of his word."