WBC President: ‘Francis Ngannou is humble and hardworking’

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WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman was quick to defend Francis Ngannou’s inclusion in the WBC’s top ten boxers. He notably added that Ngannou was humble and hardworking.

Ngannou’s amazing performance against Tyson Fury wowed boxing enthusiasts who had rightly expected something very different.

None prepared to see a boxing debutant knock down the world’s best boxer in the third round of a ten-rounder.

Following the bout, Sulaiman argued that the awesome performance should reflect on Ngannou’s rating in the boxing world. A dream Sulaiman went ahead to make a reality after chatting with his fellow workers at the WBC.

Speaking recently following the controversy the rating began, he made the following statement to Sky Sports: ‘First of all it is based on the rules. The WBC rules for the ratings criteria has many parameters; record, activity, level of opposition and other matters including activity in amateur boxing, Olympic boxing or any other contact sport.

‘We have ranked many fighters from Thailand who have had a successful Muay Thai or Thai boxing career and they enter into professional boxing. We have so many precedents.

‘For Ngannou to enter the rankings, it’s supported by the rules. But who can, in their state of mind, go against Ngannou being ranked? He dropped Tyson, the best heavyweight champion of today in boxing and he lost a split decision against the champion.

‘So who can go against that? It is only to make controversy. So if they see that it is within the rules and they see the performance he had, there is no controversy putting him No 10 in the rankings.

‘It was amazing. He has a big chin, a huge chin, tremendous punching power and he was very clean. He boxed. There was a concern that he would get to the tactics of mixed martial arts. No, he did a tremendous fight.

‘He’s humble and he’s hardworking. I’m very proud of the decision by the WBC.’