Ngannou’s Next Move ‘Probably 90 Percent Made’

Francis Ngannou is the talk of the combat sports world.

While he may have come up short on the scorecards via a split decision against Tyson Fury (watch highlights), Ngannou has been unanimously crowned the biggest winner from his crossover boxing match debut this past weekend (Oct. 28, 2023). Now, a world of options awaits him arguably more in the boxing world than what he’s been known for as a mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter and champion.

Ngannou is wasting no time plotting his next move as his manager, Marquel Martin, has revealed that the decision on his next fight is “probably 90 percent made” and would likely come in the first quarter of 2024. Amongst the likely options, Martin highlighted Fury along with fresh match ups against other top Heavyweight boxers, Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua.

“Those are some of the options that we’ve been discussing for a long time,” Martin said on The MMA Hour. “I think what kind of emerged as of late was Anthony Joshua, right? We’ve had the conversations with Deontay. And obviously, Tyson’s there, but now Joshua can be a potential suitor. Obviously, Eddie Hearn, I have a ton of respect for him as a promoter and he does a great job. He thinks that Anthony Joshua can make light work of Francis, and it’s just — actually, the team, we were hoping before the Tyson Fury stuff ever came up came to be about, we’re hoping that we got a chance to fight Anthony Joshua.

“I think personally that’s easy work for Francis,” he continued. “And I think Anthony Joshua didn’t really want that, but now, if he’s smart, and Eddie’s a smart guy, there is something to be said for Africa and those two, right? Knowing that AJ is Nigerian, I believe. You can make the case for Deontay Wilder, because stylistically, power for power, everyone wants to answer those questions. And I’ve been saying that publicly for quite a while. Francis, his power is unmatched by any human being on Earth. So you have that spectacle.

“And then of course, I know Francis as a competitor, as an athlete, he’s going to want to prove to the world, ‘Not only did I beat [Fury] the first time, but I’ll beat him again even more convincingly if you guys ever [agree to it],’” Martin concluded. “So that’s the exciting part. So Francis is going to make his choice, he’s going to make that f—k you money that we talk about.”

When it comes to the MMA side of things, Ngannou and his current promotion, Professional Fighters League (PFL), have both indicated he will make his debut in the cage at some point in 2024. It’s just a matter of when, and with this newfound boxing success, it may be later rather than sooner. “The Predator” last fought in MMA when he successfully defended his Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight crown against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022 (watch highlights).