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Francis Ngannou (0-2, 0 KOs) moved away from his MMA background to face Tyson Fury on October 28, 2023, losing a narrow split decision to “The Gypsy King.” The Cameroonian fighter memorably knocked down Fury, and despite losing earned plenty of plaudits. His second foray into boxing saw him brutally knocked out by Anthony Joshua. The MMA legend has spoken to Sportsbook Review about his return to boxing and the opponent he wants to face.
Francis Ngannou Targets Big-Name Opponent for Boxing Return
Francis Ngannou Talks Boxing Return
Ngannou despite losing both of his fights in the boxing world, has made his mark competing in two huge events. Since his loss to AJ, Ngannou returned to MMA to defeat Renan Ferreira on his PFL debut, but has his eyes firmly set on a return to the boxing ring, telling Sportsbook Review: “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.”
The 38-year-old seemingly only has interest in facing the biggest names, setting his sights on an ex-world champion: “(I’m passionate about fighting Deontay Wilder) because there’s an 80% chance that somebody will go to sleep,” said the Cameroonian. “It will be one or the other.”
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Despite Wilder losing his last two fights, the danger of fighting him is not lost on Ngannou: “Maybe not in his past two fights, but Deontay Wilder is known as a guy that knocks everybody out or tries to knock you out,” Ngannou said.
Talking about ego and punching power, the Batie native said: “I’m going against that guy, and I myself can knock someone out. Deep inside me there is a little bit of ego, like I know I hit harder.
“I’m saying from my experience that we will have that ego that we both want to prove ‘no, it’s me (who hits harder). Who is the biggest hitter between you and Deontay? Those sorts of conversations are popping around a little bit and even though you think you don’t care about it, it sticks somewhere in your mind.”
Doubting Deontay and Boxing Future
Wilder has lost four out of his last five fights, and it remains to be seen if he can return to a high level in boxing. Francis Ngannou himself has been written off and has returned to top-level combat sports and is seemingly reluctant to overlook the remaining ability of “The Bronze Bomber.“
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“That’s what they said about me back in 2018,” he said. “I was just getting started. With this sport, there are ups and downs. For some reason when you are in your downs, people always find some scenario like, ‘He’s done, he’s old, he wasn’t what he thought he was.’
“I heard the same thing about me back in 2018, long time before I even became a champion,” said Ngannou.
A timeframe for Ngannou’s boxing return and a potential fight against Wilder remains unclear, but it appears only huge fights are on the table for the 38-year-old: “We didn’t have that opportunity (to plan my future) but we exchanged words obviously about that,” Ngannou said regarding his recent discussions with Riyadh Season.
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“(Saudi Arabian Royal Court adviser) Turki Alalshikh said he was working on something big for me this year. He said we have to do something big – either Jon Jones or Wilder. That’s what he told me personally.”
