Francis Ngannou WBC ranking revealed

Francis Ngannou now has a number next to his name.

By: Nate Wilcox | 3 weeks ago
Francis Ngannou WBC ranking revealed
Francis Ngannou at a 2023 Champions League event. | Victor Fraile / Power Sport Images, IMAGO

The crossover boxing match between lineal MMA heavyweight champ Francis Ngannou vs. lineal heavyweight boxing champ Tyson Fury left many fans in shock when Ngannou lost a narrow split decision after scoring the only knockdown of the bout.

Ngannou’s trainer Mike Tyson was super impressed.

“I was really proud of Francis Ngannou because he listened to everything I said,” Tyson explained. “And I was telling everybody about the great left hook that he landed on his sparring partner and actually broke his leg, and I knew if he landed that left hook on anybody they were gone – and I was right. The champ went down. I’m happy. I’m very grateful to be involved with his glory, his victory. I’m sure we’ll see a lot more of Mr. Francis.”

Francis Ngannou get #10 WBC ranking

The BoxRec algorithm may have ranked Ngannou at 585 among their near 1,500 recorded active heavyweights, but the WBC came up with a ranking that more closely approximates Ngannou’s performance.

“Francis Ngannou did an outstanding job against the WBC Heavyweight Champion and the WBC Board of Governors has agreed to rank him as No. 10 in the Heavyweight division,” the governing body announced in a post on social media.

Francis Ngannou wants Tyson Fury rematch

Francis Ngannou has a lot of options after his stunning performance in October.

“The rematch is what I want next the most,” he said in a recent interview. “Because, as for right now I feel like there is a lot of options for me, but I want to choose wisely—and I would go for the rematch first.

“Going into the first one, there was a lot of questions, a lot of uncertainty for boxing… Even going into the training camp there was a lot of unknown. But I think this fight—from the beginning of the camp up, leading up to the fight—I think that was a lot of experience that will definitely help me a lot for the second fight.”

The PFL has its work cut out to find Ngannou an opponent for his MMA return.

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About the author
Nate Wilcox
Nate Wilcox

Nate Wilcox is the founding editor of BloodyElbow.com. As such he has hired every editor and writer to work for the site. Wilcox’s writing for BE is known for its emphasis on MMA history, the evolution of fighting techniques and strong opinions. Wilcox developed the SBN MMA consensus rankings which were featured in USA Today from 2009 to 2011. Before founding BE, Wilcox was a political operative working for such figures as Senators John Kerry and Mark Warner and an early political blogger. He is the co-author of Netroots Rising, a history of the political blogosphere from 2003 to 2007. Wilcox also hosts the Let It Roll podcast on music history for the Pantheon Podcast Network.

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