Francis N’Gannou: “Wilder] is willing to fight me in MMA“
Francis N’Gannou is on top of the world. After his razor close fight with Tyson Fury, “The Predator” knows that he is living up to his name. Having signed with PFL, the Xtreme Couture champ knows all boxers are fighting him with a handicap.
There’s been much talk about who is next for Francis N’Gannou; a Tyson Fury rematch, Anthony Joshua, Derek Chisora. But the fight that he is most keen on is boxing’s own heaviest hitter, Deontay Wilder. N’Gannou appeared on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast.
Francis N’Gannou navigating the boxing business world
Boxing is notoriously hard to navigate in a business sense. You really never see someone come in and face the champion immediately like we did with Tyson Fury and Francis N’Gannou. But the two names pulled some strings and made it happen.
N’Gannou is tired of that talk. He says that he’s looking for someone who will not just talk about it, but he about it.
“I’ve been in this game for so long. I’ve seen so much. I’ve heard so much what people intend to do. There’s a difference between wanting to do and be able to do.”
On Sharpe’s show, N’Gannou says that no other name makes sense for Wilder in MMA because the stakes aren’t there. He knows Wilder has been preparing for a crossover and likes Wilder in most MMA matchups.
“Let’s say he’s not fighting me, he’s fighting somebody else,” N’Gannou says. “I look at the profile of that fighter, I put my money on Deontay. Basically, even just as a boxer, basically now that he’s really intent on doing MMA and training, I’d put money on him.”
N’Gannou is also okay with another handicap. With that said, he is open to a mixed rules bout, perhaps similar to Demetrious Johnson vs Rodtang, perhaps just kickboxing.
“Because he just needs to cut somebody to land a punch. It could also be a mixed rules. We were thinking of mixed rules. Because honestly it’s going to be too hard for him if it’s not mixed rules.”
The talks were there as well. N’Gannou vs. Wilder was in the works before he had his shot at the lineal heavyweight champion.
“Even before this Tyson fight, we were talking with [Wilder],” said N’Gannou. “He’s also willing to fight me in MMA. For real.”
