Boxing

Francis Ngannou and former Tyson Fury opponent tease potential boxing clash during chance meeting at soccer game

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Francis Ngannou finally returned to MMA last October after two years away from the cage, winning the PFL heavyweight superfight championship against Renan Ferreira.

After his highly anticipated debut in the PFL Smartcage, Francis Ngannou knocked out Renan Ferreira in the first round of their heavyweight main event, showing he is still one of the best in the world.

Despite this, 'The Predator' admitted shortly afterwards that he is still not done with boxing and wants to be back in the ring next year.

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Francis Ngannou and Derek Chisora tease potential boxing match

During his time away from the cage, Ngannou swapped the MMA gloves for the boxing gloves and fought Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.

After beating 'The Gypsy King' to an extremely close decision in his first appearance in the boxing ring, fans were extremely optimistic about his fight against heavy hitter Joshua.

However, the 38-year-old suffered a terrifying knockout in the second round, leaving fans hoping he would not return to the boxing ring.

While fans were hoping that 'The Predator' would make a full-time return to MMA, Deontay Wilder was highlighted as a potential opponent after expressing his desire to return to boxing.

With that, 'The Bronze Bomber' Ngannou recently called for a possible clash and Ngannou responded by stating that he wanted Wilder to be one of the two extra boxing fights.

Then again, Ngannou now seemingly has options as he and Derek Chisora ran into each other at a Manchester United football match last Thursday night and teased a possible fight.

“Guess who I ran into, folks?” Chisora teased in a video on his Instagram Story as he pointed the camera at Ngannou.

“I can't say much, I can't say much, but I wish you a Merry Christmas, brother,” Chisora told Ngannou.

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Chisora will make his 49th in-ring appearance next February when he takes on Otto Wallin at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester.

The 40-year-old has expressed his desire to fight his 50th and final fight against Ngannou in Africa, in what would be a monumental event.

According to Dan Hardy, Francis Ngannou is better off in MMA than in boxing

This Friday, the PFL 2024 Championships will take place in Saudi Arabia, with heavyweights Denis Golstov and Oleg Popov battling it out for the heavyweight title.

With the promotion still looking for mega fights for Ngannou within the PFL, Dan Hardy believes the winner of the 2024 heavyweight tournament should be Ngannou's next opponent.

“I think this makes the most sense for me. You have two guys here – two impressive Russian fighters who are both at different ends of their careers,” Hardy told MMA Junkie.

“I think there are other options, but whatever Ngannou does, I would prefer him to do it in mixed martial arts because I think we see the best of him. He's just freer and much more dangerous in mixed martial arts,” Hardy continued.