We may not have seen the last of Francis Ngannou in a boxing ring. The MMA warrior who made the transition from the cage to the ring, having mixed results – a close, it’s debatable Ngannou won it split decision loss to Tyson Fury, followed by a blast-out defeat at the hands of Anthony Joshua – still wants to fight Deontay Wilder in a boxing ring.
Ngannou, who will fight his PFL debut in the cage in October, this against Rennan Ferreira, told Talk Sport he wants Wilder – but not in an MMA encounter, as that would simply be “too easy” for him.
“Absolutely. I would love that fight,” Ngannou said of a Wilder showdown. “Pure boxing, don’t be delusional here. That’s where we both stand a chance. But if we go to MMA, only one man will stand a chance. It’s a fight that I want; I have always wanted the fight. At some point, we had a discussion that didn’t go too far. But we wanted to make this fight happen. ”
So, is there still fan interest in seeing Ngannou box against Wilder or against any other pro boxer? I’d say yes, there is. But if we may not have seen the last of Ngannou in the ring, might we have seen the last of Wilder?
Wilder hasn’t boxed since being stopped in emphatic fashion by Zhilei Zhang some months back. We hear Wilder is financially sound, with him only returning to the ring if he really wants to do so.
Does a tango with Ngannou appeal to Wilder at this point in his life? But Ngannou isn’t only talking about a boxing match with Wilder – he also told Talk Sport that he wants a rematch with Fury. “I have the rematch with Fury and Deontay Wilder on the wish list,” Ngannou said.
Who knows if either fight has a snowball’s chance in hell of taking place? But Ngannou remains a big name and a real fan-favourite. You cannot help but admire Ngannou for all he has come through in his quite amazing life. In and out of the cage and the ring.
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