Francis Ngannou is determined to get in the squared circle first before he ever steps back into the octagon.
In an interview with ESPN on Friday, the former UFC champion from Cameroon offered an update on his career, saying he expects to announce his boxing debut in the next “month or two.”
His opponent is up in the air, but Ngannou was not shy about noting that the fighter with whom he has had the most meaningful discussions thus far has been former champion Deontay Wilder.
Indeed, Wilder himself has indicated in recent weeks that he has been speaking to Ngannou about a fight or two, with one of them potentially in Africa. Ngannou has also spoken to British promoter Eddie Hearn about a fight with star heavyweight Anthony Joshua.
“My next step has to be boxing,” Ngannou said. “I want to do one boxing match first, and then maybe go back to MMA because I still enjoy MMA. I want to do a couple of fights in boxing. We are working on some stuff and hopefully in a month or two, I will be able to come out with an announcement on potential fight dates and locations. It’s taking a little longer than I expected but it’s coming along. Big things come with time.
“I’m considering everybody [as an opponent],” Ngannou continued. “I talked to [promoter] Eddie Hearn about Anthony Joshua, I don’t know what’s going to happen. The most that we have spoken with is Deontay Wilder’s team. We’ve been having some exchanges, basically coming to some sort of verbal agreement.”
Ngannou parted ways with the UFC after they could not agree on a contract extension. The UFC then stripped Ngannou of his heavyweight title belt, which was subsequently claimed by Jon Jones in a vacant title bout with a stoppage over Ciryl Gane last weekend at UFC 285.
Like Wilder, Ngannou also described his passion for bringing a big fight to Africa some day.
“I always wanted to have an event in Africa,” Ngannou said. “To fight at home but also to give my people a show, an opportunity to see all those big events and give a gift to the kids to believe in this sport and let them know that anything is possible. I’m still working to bring something to Africa and I will do that. That’s my personal mission.”
By Sean Nam