Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has claimed that “something unfair happened” during his boxing bout with Anthony Joshua in 2024.
Ngannou, who left MMA’s biggest promotion in search of new challenges, made his boxing debut against Tyson Fury, surprising many by knocking down the ‘Gypsy King’ before losing via a razor-thin decision. He later stepped into the ring with two-time heavyweight world champion Joshua, only to suffer a brutal second-round knockout defeat.
Reflecting on the fight with Joshua, Ngannou expressed dissatisfaction with the circumstances leading up to the bout. “A rematch with Joshua? I felt very off and not comfortable in that fight,” Ngannou said in an interview with Seconds Out. “I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but I didn’t like the Joshua fight. Things weren’t right… I was in the locker room for almost four hours, which is not something that happens, so just from there.”
Despite consecutive losses in boxing, Ngannou made a triumphant return to MMA in October, knocking out Renan Ferreira within minutes. However, the 38-year-old remains focused on returning to the squared circle, prioritizing a rematch with Fury over any potential bout with Joshua.
“What I want to see now is Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou,” he told Pro Boxing Fans after the recent rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Fury. Speaking on the Usyk-Fury fight, he added, “I think the fight was pretty close… From my scorecard, it was closer than that. Maybe Usyk still wins, but I wasn’t sure who the winner was at the end.”
Ngannou’s determination to reclaim his place in boxing highlights his unwavering ambition, as he continues to push boundaries across combat sports.
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