It seems we have not seen the last of Francis Ngannou in the boxing ring. Currently 0-2 as a pro boxer – the losses coming against Tyson Fury, on points in a close fight that saw the MMA great put on a more than admirable showing, and against Anthony Joshua, who leveled Ngannou in the second round – the towering Nigerian told Sportsbook Review that he is “not done with boxing,” that he will “do boxing next.”
Ngannou says he will return to the ring later this year, with his ideal dance partner being either Deontay Wilder or Fury in a rematch. Fury, we are told, is retired, so that sequel may not have any real chance of coming to pass. But then again, who knows for sure? Wilder, we don’t know what is going on with his career. It was, we were informed, going to be Wilder vs. Curtis Harper in April. But that fight is now dead. Might Wilder be close to a fight with Ngannou?
Francis sure hopes so, as he explained.
“I will do boxing next,” he said. “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. [I really want to fight Wilder] because there’s an 80 percent chance that somebody will go to sleep. It will be one or the other.”
Even now, as faded and out of bullets as Wilder looked in his losses to Joe Parker and Zhilei Zhang, a fight between the former WBC heavyweight champ and Ngannou would be a big event. If promoted right, and perhaps backed by a big under card, the fight maybe taking place in Riyadh, Wilder Vs. Ngannou could be huge.
Two big punchers, you could say both vulnerable, going at it. It would perhaps be over in a veritable flash, but there would be plenty of fans tuning in on the night if this one did go down.
As for his chances of getting a second go at Fury, Ngannou merely said he “hopes” it will happen.
“I don’t know if I will rematch Fury; I hope so,” Ngannou said again to Sportsbook Review. “I never expected to win that fight by decision. I wasn’t surprised. I was sad, and people were arguing. But that’s just how this game works.”
Can Ngannou win his first fight as a heavyweight boxer this year, and if so, who might the win come against? Who wins if Ngannou and Wilder do rumble?
