Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou intends to take on a tune-up before fighting one of the big names in boxing, namely Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, or Tyson Fury.
The 36-year-old fighter aims to have at least one tune-up fight before taking on Joshua, Wilder, or Fury. This will likely only be a one-off for Ngannou once he gets his big payday fight against one of those three; he will lose and then never fight again in boxing.
Ngannou, who stands at 6’4”, has not disclosed the names he has in mind for his tune-up, but it is unlikely to be a top-tier fighter or anyone with high-level experience.
This move might be more about Ngannou making a lot of money in a spectacle fight similar to that of former UFC star Conor McGregor, who challenged undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. in his professional debut and was knocked out in the tenth round of a lackluster, one-sided fight in August 2017. The event brought in a massive 4.3 million PPV buys and earned Mayweather $280 million while McGregor took home $130 million.
It is unlikely that Ngannou can make anywhere near the same amount of money that McGregor made because Joshua, Fury, and Wilder are not as popular as Mayweather was back in 2017.
“I’ve always dreamed of getting Tyson Fury. It seems like he’s not quite on that level right now. Deontay Wilder, me and my team have been going back and forth. We didn’t get there because of a potential fight with AJ [and Wilder] in December, but we were still aligned for a potential fight after that,” said Ngannou of his plans to fight one of the big names in boxing.
“My goal is to have a potential tune-up fight this year, at least one, before next year. That’s the vision for boxing. We’ve been working. My team engaged in some discussions with the Money Team Promotions [also known as Mayweather Promotions] regarding boxing, and we’re going to see about that.
“We’re definitely coming out with a plan, we have a plan, and we are coming out very soon,” said Ngannou.
Ngannou must face a non-punching fighter in his tune-up because if the fighter can take him past the first four rounds, the 36-year-old could lose his stamina and get stopped. Boxing is a completely different sport from mixed martial arts (MMA).
No former MMA fighter has yet made a mark in boxing, and at Ngannou’s age, he’s unlikely to be the first. However, Ngannou could earn a significant amount of money in a spectacle fight with Joshua, Wilder, or Fury, but he’ll probably be destroyed, and that may be the end of his boxing career.