Francis Ngannou is stepping back into the ring.
The ex-UFC Heavyweight Champion might be signed to the PFL, but the boxing super-fights keep coming for him. After taking on Tyson Fury in his pro debut, Ngannou is set fight former champ Anthony Joshua on Mar. 8 in Saudi Arabia.
Ngannou has been counted out by many in his cross-over to the squared circle, but ‘The Predator’ silenced his doubters with a shocking knockdown of Fury last October. Ngannou nearly had Fury beat through the distance, too, if it weren’t for the judges deciding on a split decision result for the ‘Gypsy King’.
Ngannou On Hearn’s Words
Despite how close their match was, Anthony Joshua’s manager Eddie Hearn has dubbed Ngannou as ‘easy money’, previously dismissing his chances in boxing. Ngannou is not surprised with the noise.
“Eddie’s a promoter, so that’s like a routine for him,” Ngannou said of Hearn’s previous comments on The MMA Hour. “He said the same thing all the time, just not about Francis Ngannou, but about somebody else. That’s what he does.”
Ngannou Gonna ‘Find Out’ About Joshua’s Chin
What Francis Ngannou does is put people to sleep, at least that’s what we’ve seen from his MMA career with 11 out of 17 wins coming by way of KO/TKO. As other boxers have tried before him, Ngannou will look to put Joshua’s chin to the test.
“The day is set. It’s 2 months from now and if any of them think they are going to have easy money, too bad for them. If AJ take the punch that Fury took. I don’t guarantee that he’s [getting] up. I have heard that he doesn’t have a chin. I’m gonna find out.
“I think he’s still the same fighter,” Ngannou said of Joshua. “Being the same fighter doesn’t mean you can’t lose. He lost to Andy Ruiz. He lost to Oleksandr Usyk and he can still lose. By the way, I’m really intending to hand him a loss on March 8th.
“You can still be who you are, but still lose. Nobody is undefeated.”
Title Implications
Speaking about undefeated, Ngannou still has unfinished business with former foe, the 34-0-1 Tyson Fury. The former UFC Champ believes a win over top contender Anthony Joshua will earn him another shot at boxing’s biggest heavyweight star today.
Should he fight and beat Fury on a second try, Ngannou already knows the sort of situation that would put him in.
“I win this fight, I’m fighting Fury, period,” Ngannou continued. “Whether or not he has the belt. The thing with the title, and this is a system that I want I don’t wanna fall into anymore. It’s like, Okay. When you start a run, then you’re gonna make concession with maybe an organization or a title organization. You have to fit into something and I would just wanna be free and fight.
“I don’t wanna owe anything to, uh, anybody or to respond to anybody. Right? So, uh, I don’t want that political stuff, like, with the title and this. Obviously, if the title is on the line and no string is attached, yes, of course, I’ll grab it. It’s good for the decoration.”
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