Promoter Frank Warren wants to get in the Francis Ngannou business.
The head of Queensberry Promotions indicated that he hopes to discuss promotional opportunities with the former UFC champion after his rousing but ultimately losing performance to Warren’s chief client, Tyson Fury, the WBC titlist, last Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The heavily-hyped 10-round “crossover” matchup was regarded as a mismatch by most viewers, but the fight did not play out that way, with Ngannou even scoring a shocking knockdown of Fury in the third round.
England’s Fury ended up winning narrowly on points: one judge scored it for Cameroon’s Ngannou 95-94, but two other had it 95-94 and 96-93 for Fury. (Fury's WBC belt was not at stake).
Now Warren is looking to explore ways of collaborating with Ngannou.
“He has come out of this a huge star, a hero,” Warren told Boxing News’ Declan Taylor. “He is now in a position to be in massive fights and I will have a meeting with him and his people about working together. The rematch could end up being as big as the Usyk fight.”
Warren proposed one of his top clients, Joe Joyce, as a possible option for Ngannou. Joyce is coming off back-to-back losses to China’s Zhilei Zhang, who is also promoted by Warren.
“I will offer him a top-level fight,” Warren said. “He is solid, an athlete. He’ll get into the top 10 after that and based on that performance, I would give him a shot against anyone in the top 10 and I think he’d beat at least five of them right now. He’d beat Manuel Charr all day long; him and Joe Joyce would be a good fight.”
Fury will now face WBO, WBA, IBF champion Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship but the date for that fight appears to be up in the air.
In the Boxing News interview, Warren rejected the much rumored Dec. 23 date for that fight, saying that Fury needs a "break." Usyk, however, has maintained that the fight must happen on that day.
Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.