Francis Ngannou has opened the door to showdowns with the likes of Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua after he announced his plans to move into boxing following his exit from the UFC.
UFC President Dana White revealed at a press conference in Las Vegas on Saturday that Ngannou was no longer with the organisation and stripped of his heavyweight title after rejecting a new contract, with Fury and Joshua waiting in the wings as he intends to crossover to boxing.
The Cameroonian-born Frenchman confronted Fury in the ring after he retained his WBC heavyweight crown with a sixth round stoppage over Dillian Whyte in April.
Rumours have been swirling over who could be first on his hitlist with suggestions of a potential meeting with Derek Chisora, although the 36-year-old, who has been sidelined with a knee injury is targeting a meeting with ‘The Gypsy King’ and insists he is still keen to compete in MMA.
Ngannou told The MMA Hour: “In the perfect world I go out there and get some boxing matches, come back get some MMA [fights], maybe switch again, I don’t know.
“It depends what the challenge is out there.
“I think if I have an opportunity to fight all those top guys in boxing I will take it.
“I don’t know [why I haven’t fought Fury].
“I think he retired, came back, wants to fight Usyk and all those stuff.
“I don’t know where he’s at right now, but I’m going to find out, it’s the time.
Thought you wanted some smoke @francis_ngannou 🐓
Lets do a propper fight!
Wembley Stadium 2022 🏟 pic.twitter.com/S6WnpWBSx7
— TYSON FURY (@Tyson_Fury) June 27, 2022
“Before besides those social media [posts] we couldn’t do anything concrete, but now we can engage, talk to everything, so it’s time to figure that out.
“Whatever it is, if it’s with Tyson Fury I would take it.
“I have no problem doing boxing with 4oz gloves. We were talking about a hybrid.
“Maybe the 4oz gloves, maybe inside a cage, we will figure it out.”
Ngannou, who’s former title will be contested by Jon Jones and Cyril Gane at UFC 285 on March 4, says he also intends to test himself against former two-time heavyweight world champion, Joshua.
‘AJ’ is set to return in April and proboxing-fans.com understands that talks are ongoing with Jermaine Franklin, whilst his promoter Eddie Hearn recently outlined a three-fight plan for this year which included meetings with Fury, Dillian Whyte and Deontay Wilder.
Asked who he wants to face first, ‘The Predator’ replied: “Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua.”
