Francis Ngannou entered the sport of boxing in a big way.
The former UFC Heavyweight Champion landed a fight with Tyson Fury, who at that point held the WBC belt but didn’t put it on the line, in October last year.
Despite ultimately losing a split decision after ten rounds, Ngannou impressed with his awkward style and a third round knockdown that had Fury’s team worried. The performance landed him a fight with another Brit in Anthony Joshua.
If Fury didn’t prepare properly, ‘AJ’ did. He dispatched of the MMA fighter in two rounds in devastating fashion.
Now set to make a return to his own sport with the PFL, Ngannou was asked recently by TalkSPORT if he would still come back to boxing, particularly for a fight against former champion Deontay Wilder.
“Absolutely. I would love that fight. Pure boxing, don’t be delusional here. That’s where we both stand a chance, but if we go MMA only one man stands a chance. It’s a fight that I want, I always wanted that fight. At some point we had a discussion that didn’t go too far, but we wanted to make this fight happen.”
Wilder is currently licking his wounds after back-to-back losses in Saudi Arabia. Should he retire rather than fight on, Ngannou has other targets.
“And even more boxers, [Oleksandr Usyk?] Why not everyone? I have the Fury rematch then Deontay Wilder on the wish list.
Not quite everyone, though, as when Ngannou was asked about Martin Bakole he was much less keen – both because of a personal relationship and the danger he poses.
[Martin Bakole?] Not really. That is the fight I would choose as the last option because I see him more like a brother. I’d fight anyone else beside him, plus he’s dangerous!”
Bakole has previously said he would knock Ngannou out easily should they meet in the ring. He is riding high in the division after a demolition job on America’s Jared Anderson and is now looking for his next big fight with Zhilei Zhang understood to be in the running.
