Francis Ngannou choses between Joshua and Wilder

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New heavyweight boxing superstar Francis Ngannou said he would box with former heavyweight champions Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua, following recent efforts by both to get him to sign fight contracts with them.

In a public chat with The Last Dance, Francis Ngannou explained the kind of fighters he wanted to face in the heavyweight division. The Cameroonian just finished his professional boxing debut in flying colours, though he came out the loser.

However, nearly none believed he could have done things like knock down the most respected contemporary boxer in the third round of their ten-round bout, taking him the distance, and striking so strongly that many thought he would be declared the winner.

Several fighters wanted to have a go with him in the wake of his stunning performance. Among them were Derek Chisora, Anthony Joshua, and Deontay Wilder. Now Ngannou has told the world whom he would like to fight if he were to fight, but first gave the reason he made the choice.

‘I prefer to fight the top fighters. Why did I feel Tyson Fury? Because he was the top of the game,’ said Ngannou. ‘I want the best. I want the big fights. I want a big show. I want everything big. But, at the end of the day, it’s a sport, and we do what we have to do.’

Then, when asked who among Joshua and Wilder he would choose as his opponent, he said it was Deontay Wilder. Francis Ngannou made it clear after the controversial result of his bout with Tyson Fury that he was not going to box contest with anyone in the heavyweight division until he had a rematch with Fury. But there are rumours that he might face Wilder in an MMA setting.

On the other side of the table, Tyson Fury has been prolific in making statements as the undisputed bout between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury rides near in February. In a recent meeting hosted by the World Boxing Cooperation in Uzbekistan, Tyson Fury was not present with other fighters like Usyk but made a video in which he told Usyk,  ‘Usyk, get ready! I’m smashing you to pieces, sucker, 4 rounds!’

Usyk had replied, ‘I have no idea, Tyson. I love you, my opponent. I love Tyson. Hey Tyson, where are you?’

The number of people looking down on Tyson Fury’s abilities in the ring decreased a lot following his underwhelming performance against Ngannou. But former heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman’s prediction is still unchanged.

‘Man, I always had Usyk against Fury,’ affirmed Rahman. ‘I feel like Tyson Fury does ‘Usyk’ to most of the heavyweights. He out-moves and out-punches the guys, and most heavyweights are like one-dimensional, just trying to land that bomb.

‘Tyson can use his movement, weight, athleticism, against most heavyweights, but Usyk used his athleticism.

‘Usyk got boxing skills. Usyk done fought welterweight champions coming up. Look at his resume. He has as amazing career. Olympic Gold Medalist, undisputed cruiserweight champion, unified heavyweight champion. Clearly he can take the punches of the big guys. I favour Usyk in this fight.’

The exact date for the bout is still to be fixed.