Francis Ngannou reveals the fight he wants after Anthony Joshua: “I still have those three names”

By Josh Evanoff - March 5, 2024

PFL star Francis Ngannou still wants to meet Deontay Wilder in the boxing ring.

Francis Ngannou

‘The Predator’ is currently slated to return to the boxing ring this Friday night, against Anthony Joshua. The bout will be Francis Ngannou’s second in the sport, previously crossing over to face Tyson Fury in October. In his debut, the former UFC champion dropped, and cut ‘The Gypsy King’ in their ten-round bout.

Still, the British boxer emerged with a split-decision victory, avoiding one of the biggest upsets in boxing history in the process. Now set to return to the boxing ring against ‘AJ’, Francis Ngannou has gotten everything he wanted. He’s out of the UFC, has an executive role in the PFL, gets to box, and more.

Furthermore, he’s getting the chance to fight two, of his three most wanted boxers. Speaking in a recent interview with DAZN Boxing, Francis Ngannou discussed his impending return to the ring. There, he again called for a boxing match with former WBC heavyweight champion, Deontay Wilder.

The PFL star has gotten this opportunity, entirely thanks to ‘The Bronze Bomber’. Wilder was originally slated to face Anthony Joshua on March 8 but was pulled after being upset by Joseph Parker in December. Despite that loss, Ngannou still wants to meet Wilder in the ring.

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Francis Ngannou calls for a future boxing match against Deontay Wilder

“If you follow boxing, or even just think about heavyweight boxing, there hasn’t been a moment in the last ten years that Anthony Joshua hasn’t been in the top three.” Francis Ngannou stated in a recent interview with DAZN, ahead of his return to the boxing ring. “That’s why, even me in my dream of boxing still in the UFC, I was dreaming four years ago, trying to crossover. He was in the three names that I had in mind.”

He continued, “Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder. I still have those three names. Still [I want a fight with Wilder]. This one, and then onto a fight with Wilder, and the Tyson Fury rematch. Potentially a rematch with, I don’t know, it depends on how this fight goes, the ‘AJ’ fight. But yeah, Tyson Fury [rematch] based on what happened the first time, the controversy.”

“We need to sort that out.” Francis Ngannou concluded in the interview. “But yes, Wilder is still on my list.”

Talk of Francis Ngannou vs. Deontay Wilder has been ongoing for years now. Before ‘The Predator’ signed a deal to box Tyson Fury last fall, he was in discussions to fight the American boxer. Later, Wilder showed interest in meeting Ngannou in the PFL cage, but no deal was ever reached.

What do you make of these comments? Do you want to see Francis Ngannou vs. Deontay Wilder?

This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM


Topics:

Anthony Joshua Boxing News Francis Ngannou