Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou (17-3) has his eyes set on the boxing ring. Ngannou isn’t interested in easing into competition either as he’s looking to max out his opportunities. He’s going for the top of the heap.
Previously, Ngannou told Ariel Helwani on the MMA Hour that he was interested in boxing matches with Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, and Deontay Wilder. The former heavyweight king seems to be heading for boxing opposed to MMA at the moment.
In speaking with TMZ Sports, Ngannou has revealed that he’s been in contact with Tyson Fury’s team. The Gypsy King is currently working on finalizing a heavyweight unification bout with fellow heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Word had come out last week that Fury and Usyk would be fighting in April with a location to be revealed this week. However, Fury told Sky Sports that he’s still in limbo at the moment waiting on final confirmation whether or not the fight is actually going to happen.
Will the boxing match happen?
As of right now, I tend to believe that Fury – Usyk is going to happen. This is the biggest heavyweight bout there is to make in boxing. It’s a fight that needs to happen to show the world who the best fighter really is.
Of course, Francis Ngannou is going to be a very interested watcher if this fight happens. If Fury were to lose to Usyk, the fight between him and Ngannou loses a little luster. The big appeal behind the fight currently is the fact that Fury is boxing’s heavyweight king while Ngannou was the UFC’s.
I still have my reservations that the bout between Fury and Ngannou would actually happen regardless. I know that Ngannou is out from under the UFC, but I’m just not sure it’ll all come together in the moment. Ngannou’s next fight will be in the squared circle, just not sure it’ll be against Fury.