Ngannou declares set to create record in new boxing career.

The former Ultimate Fighting Champions, UFC, World Champion made the revelations on Thursday November 2. The Predator was speaking as a guest on the prime-time TV newscast on the Cameroon Radio Television, CRTV. 

Ngannou, who is in the country after the battle of the baddest against Tyson Fury where he lost after a controversial split decision in favour of the reigning World Boxing Council, WBC,  champion, opened up on his debut in boxing. 

The physically imposing and intimidating boxer disclosed that he was delighted with his debut. 

Ngannou said he intends to inspire himself from the bout against Fury to draw the positives and bounce back strongly. 

“Let’s be honest, boxing has been very exciting.  You know to get there at that level and challenge the number one and basically get the victory over him really pushed me to discover what I  can potentially do in the boxing world,” Ngannou revealed., 

Ngannou insist robbed of victory 

During the interview, granted to state television Thursday, Ngannou insisted that he won the October 28 bout against Fury.  

Ngannou revealed that although he shocked the world with his swift, powerful punches and herculean strength, for so many people, it was ‘too early’ for him to win against Fury, who had never tasted defeat in his entire career. 

“Yes, it is my personal view. To be honest I was not very surprised because the boxing world is very complicated, not to say corrupted. I was just a guy coming from MMA and for the boxing community, I was the MMA guy and none of them expected me to get there and do what I did,” Ngannou said. 

 “So, they were quite surprised.  It would have been a shame for them to see a game to come in his first professional boxing fight to win against the undisputed heavyweight champion who had been undefeated in his entire career,” Ngannou added. 

Ngannou went further to explain that: “And he (referring to Tyson Fury) is a business for a lot of people. And everybody has to protect his business. At some point I felt like I was a lion fighting in the middle of a hyena. So, I had only two options; one was to back down, or to go down”.  

Ngannou said despite the split decision from the judges, he was successful on two fronts. 

He added that he achieved the triumph with little or no injuries.

“I feel good. I feel like I had a double victory regardless of the controversial decision of the judges. I feel pretty good. I am healthy. I am tired from all that training and the fight. I did not get hurt during the fight. I did not get any damage unlike him. So, I am pretty good,” Ngannou revealed. 

The World Boxing Council, WBC, heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, it should be recalled, claimed a controversial split decision victory over former UFC fighter Francis Ngannou in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

After a timid start, Ngannou, 37, boxed very smartly with Fury getting a full state of his strength in the third round when he put Fury on the canvas after connecting with a left hook.

Ngannou impressed in his first professional boxing fight

But while one judge scored it 95-94 in favour of Ngannou, two gave it to a battered Fury who was badly swollen around his left eye at 96-93 and 95-94.There were no major stakes involved in the clash as Fury's WBC heavyweight belt was not on the line.

Ngannou hints on next move 

In the meantime, Francis Ngannou has revealed that he is still uncertain about his next move after the Fury bout last week. 

“Right now I don’t know yet what is going to happen if I am going to do an MMA match or boxing”. 

However, according to some media reports, Ngannou is already plotting his next move. According to his longtime representative, Marquel Martin, the former UFC heavyweight champion has been weighing his options following his spectacular professional boxing debut against Tyson Fury and is close to settling on his next move.

It is reported that Ngannou and PFL founder Donn Davis also entertained the idea of a bout against Deontay Wilder under the Professional Fighters League, PFL, banner.

 It is unclear if that would be under MMA rules, boxing rules, or a rule set mixing the two. There is also the much-talked about matchup against Anthony Joshua. It is said that the fight could potentially be held in Africa, which could be “one of the biggest fights in the history of the sport.”

Ngannou salutes Mike Tyson 

Francis Ngannou also took out time to salute the support and contribution of legendary American former professional boxer, Mike Tyson as he mesmerized the boxing world on his debut.  

Ngannou mentioned that he relishes the opportunity to continue to work with Mike Tyson. 

“Mike Tyson was helping me. He is not a part of my staff.  He came to help me especially for this fight. But obviously if he is available, it’ll be an honour to have him on my staff,” Ngannou revealed. 

Quizzed on strengthening his team ahead of future fights, Ngannou disclosed that:  “I have a team. I intend to keep most of them since they are independent contractors. Their contract is over and we are going to see if we renew”. 

Inspiring next generational talent 

Francis Ngannou has said that the grooming of young talents remains a priority for him. He said through works of his foundation, The Francis Ngannou Foundation, several youngsters can be trained and take part in recognized and established competitions. 

“My foundation has been out here since 2018. And we recently opened the second location in Douala that will train young Cameroonians and also give them the opportunity to compete in the local event in order to shape their performance to potentially fight in PFL Africa that is coming soon. So, it is a new project that is very interesting for me. I took it very personally and it’s quite exciting” he said.

It is worth mentioning that the The Francis Ngannou Foundation has for the past six years been self-financed solely with personal funding from Francis Ngannou himself.

In 2023, The Francis Ngannou Foundation built in Douala the second MMA Certified gym in Cameroon and the whole Central Africa.

The Francis Ngannou Foundation MMA Gyms ally rigorous martial arts programmes for karaté, judo, boxing and kickboxing taught by top notch teachers with what we call school of life learnings that are love, respect, discipline, ethics, fair-play.