Francis Ngannou wants to keep boxing after his fight with Anthony Joshua. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion recently shared his thoughts on potential opponents in the ring.
Ngannou stepped into the boxing world last October when he faced Tyson Fury. Despite losing by split decision after ten rounds, he made a strong impression by knocking Fury down in the third round. His second boxing match against Anthony Joshua ended quickly with a knockout loss in two rounds.
Even with these setbacks, Ngannou's interest in boxing remains strong. He told TalkSPORT about his desire to face Deontay Wilder:
"Absolutely. I would love that fight. Pure boxing, don't be delusional here. That's where we both stand a chance, but if we go MMA only one man stands a chance. It's a fight that I want, I always wanted that fight. At some point we had a discussion that didn't go too far, but we wanted to make this fight happen."
Wilder is currently taking time off after two losses in Saudi Arabia. Besides Wilder, Ngannou also mentioned wanting a rematch with Tyson Fury. When asked about facing Oleksandr Usyk, Ngannou simply replied, "Why not everyone?"
There's one heavyweight, though, that Ngannou would rather avoid - Martin Bakole. He explained:
"Not really. That is the fight I would choose as the last option because I see him more like a brother. I'd fight anyone else beside him, plus he's dangerous!"
It's worth noting that Bakole previously claimed he could easily knock out Ngannou. The dangerous heavyweight recently beat Jared Anderson and might face Zhilei Zhang next.
While exploring his boxing options, Ngannou hasn't forgotten his MMA roots. He's set to return to the cage with the Professional Fighters League (PFL) in the near future.