Oscar De La Hoya would “love” to speak to free agent Francis Ngannou in regard to a potential boxing career. Ngannou once ruled as the heavyweight champion of the UFC, before contract disputes with the Las Vegas-based mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion began. Unfortunately, the two sides were unable to come to a resolution.
As a result, Ngannou departed the promotion as the UFC heavyweight champion, vacating the title, and hitting the free agency market. Now, Ngannou is looking for a new home that will hopefully allow him to also explore a career as a professional boxer, while still continuing to compete in MMA.
Oscar De La Hoya Wants To Speak To Francis Ngannou
Former boxing world champion and Golden Boy Promotions’ front-man Oscar De La Hoya knows a thing or two about guiding a young talent’s boxing career. Speaking on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani recently, De La Hoya was asked if he’d have interest in speaking to Ngannou now that he’s a free agent.
De La Hoya noted that he’d “love” to speak to “The Predator,” and any other MMA fighter for that matter.
“I would love to speak to him. I would love to speak to him. Any fighter who is an MMA fighter, I’m here. I would love to speak to anybody. I would love to pick their brain, I would love to maybe sit down and discuss some business. I’m all for it. I think that these fighters who are MMA fighters, who have been with the UFC, or who are with the UFC, I would love to just talk from fighter to fighter and pick each others brains and just see what happens. “
Ngannou certainly has a lot of momentum heading into whatever promotion he opts to sign with. Not only is he regarded as one of the most powerful punchers in combat sports today, but he left the UFC as heavyweight champion, not having lost the title legitimately. His last victory resulted in a successful title defense over Ciryl Gane, showing off his grappling skills in January of 2022.
