Francis Ngannou is apparently on the cusp of massive nights in boxing, with the legend set to focus on competing in the ring rather than the cage.
‘The Predator’ has proven he has what it takes to mix it with the best fighters in the world, regardless of the discipline.
Francis Ngannou is on course for a huge boxing fight
Since walking away from the UFC, Francis Ngannou has made waves with massive showdowns inside the squared circle.
While his bout with Anthony Joshua didn’t go to plan, the Cameroonian’s match-up with Tyson Fury only could’ve gone better had his hand been raised at the end of it.
In a breathtaking performance, the power puncher almost produced the biggest upset in boxing history, dropping ‘The Gypsy King’, who just about managed to scrape his way to victory.
Following his two boxing bouts, Ngannou returned to the cage, destroying Renan Ferreira inside the opening round to win the PFL Super Fights heavyweight championship.
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However, while it’s clear he’s still very much at the top of the MMA mountain, according to PFL chairman, Donn Davis, the giant will likely have his next outing inside the squared circle.
In an interview with MMA Fighting, he said: “If I had to guess, I would think boxing would be first given the opportunities he has.
“I don’t want to say anything about that—that’s his business for him to announce—but he has unbelievable boxing opportunities. So, I think that’s more likely to come first, and MMA is likely to come second. But what I believe you’ll see from Francis this year is one MMA fight in PFL and one boxing match from Francis. So, I think fans of Francis will see him do one of each this year.”
Could Francis Ngannou fight Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder next?
With Fury and Deontay Wilder coming off losses, now could be the perfect time to make a mega rematch or pit two of the biggest punchers in combat sports history against one another.
And according to Davis, Ngannou is more than willing to trade leather with both of them.
The businessman added: “I think he’s open to either one. But if I knew, I wouldn’t breach my confidence on his boxing stuff.
“What I know about Francis is A) he’s very, very smart, and B) he really doesn’t have any fear, as some other fighters do. They prefer things over other things, and I know that from when we talked to him about fighters on the MMA side, he’ll say, ‘That guy’s much harder match up for me. That guy stylistically could be difficult for me,’ but he never says, ‘I prefer versus I prefer.’ He just thinks this could be easier or harder or more difficult, or you’d have to train differently, but he’s open to everything.”
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