Daniel Cormier thinks Francis Ngannou has endless possibilities in boxing after his impressive performance against Tyson Fury.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou lost a close split decision to Fury in their crossover boxing match Saturday in Saudi Arabia. Not only did Ngannou push Fury to the brink, but he knocked him down in a fight many people thought he won.
Although Cormier scored the fight in Fury’s favor, he commended Ngannou for proving doubters wrong and going toe-to-toe with the WBC champion. He thinks Ngannou’s stock rose so much that no one would have an issue if he was matched up against someone like Deontay Wilder next.
“I thought Tyson Fury won that fight 95-94,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel. “We all thought that by leaving the UFC and the guaranteed amount of money he was going to make, Francis Ngannou was making a mistake. When he got this fight, you kind of had to eat crow. Now he has gone not only into that fight, but he’s over-delivered in that fight.
“So now there’s a world of opportunities still out there for Francis Ngannou. So what does he do next? Does he actually go to PFL, when right now he could go out there and fight some of the other great heavyweights around the world? He could go fight Deontay Wilder and nobody would bat an eyelid. Nobody. He could go fight some of these guys that Tyson Fury fought – Dillian Whyte is one.”
Cormier also thinks Ngannou giving Fury a stern test is a bad look for boxing.
“You know who lost tonight? The sport of boxing,” Cormier said. “You’ve got a dominant heavyweight champion that just fought a guy making his pro debut to a split decision when you already have another fight on the books for December (against Oleksandr Usyk). So whether it be taking him light, whether it be Francis was better than he expected, it does not matter. There’s going to be some work to be done to restore the way Tyson Fury is looked at right now as he heads into his next fight with Usyk.”
For more on the matchup, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Fury vs. Ngannou.