Summary:
- Francis Ngannou continues to stay in the headlines after his performance against Tyson Fury
- His manager says Ngannou is likely to fight in Q1 of 2024 next
- Potential opponents are likely Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder or a Fury rematch
Francis Ngannou surprised the boxing world and a lot of fans when he put on a fantastic performance against World Boxing Council heavyweight champ Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia. Ngannou ended up losing the fight based on the judges scorecard, but the common consensus among boxing pundits and fans was that Ngannou won the fight!
Ngannou was already guaranteed a big payday irrespective of how he performance against Fury. However after putting in a spectacular performance, his star power has now increased exponentially and he has turned himself into the A side.
Ngannou who was the former UFC heavyweight champ, has the option of fighting in MMA with the PFL where he is a partner. He also has the option to pick another big money fight in boxing for his next challenge. Ngannou will make that decision alongside his long-time manager Marquel Martin who confirmed that Ngannou is 90 percent certain as of now who he is going to fight next.
Martin says that Ngannou is likely to fight in the first quarter of 2024 and will determine his opponent shortly.
The rematch which Fury is always a possibility but given that Fury is committed to fighting Oleksandr Usyk next, it seems unlikely that Fury will be ready to fight Ngannou in the first quarter of 2024.
There was talk prior to the Fury fight that Ngannou could fight American Deontay Wilder and Martin is keen to see this fight happen not in a boxing ring but in MMA. This seems unlikely as Wilder has no experience in MMA but could be persuaded if the money is right.
Eddie Hearn who manages Anthony Joshua is pushing for a boxing match and for it to take place in Africa. Martin is also open to the possibility of facing Joshua and says that it will be easy work for Ngannou.
Martin says now that Ngannou has established himself to be the A side, he will no longer have to call out fighters but will be able to sit back and decide who he wants to fight next!
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