Ngannou Believes He Can Match Up With Fury, Joshua, Wilder

Ultimate Fighting Championship [UFC] heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou is regarded as one of the most dangerous punchers in mixed martial arts.

He's voiced his desire, more than once, to test that power in the sport of boxing.

Ngannou (14-3) was scheduled to face Jairzinho Rozenstruik at the upcoming UFC 249 event on April 18 inside Tachi Palace Resort & Casino - but the event was officially postponed on Thursday to a date to be determined, because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Before his combat sports career is over, the 33-year-old Ngannou wants to test his skills in the sport of boxing - in a similar manner to other UFC fighters like Conor McGregor, who crossed over to boxing in August 2017 for a fight with Floyd Mayweather. McGregor was stopped in ten rounds.

“I want to cross over,” Ngannou told bjpenn.com. “I want to make a statement in the boxing world because that was my first love, that was my first dream. Before MMA came around, I was all about boxing. At some point in my life I have to do whatever I like, whatever I love to do, to check all those boxes in my life timeline to do things.”

The heavyweight division has a lot of dangerous fighters at the top - like Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder.

With a proper training camp, Ngannou believes that he can be competitive with Joshua, Fury and Wilder.

“Honestly I think, obviously with good preparation I can match up with any of those guys,” Ngannou stated. “But once again, I’m not just going there for one shot, so I’m probably going to have multiple fights that will give me more opportunity to match up with many of those guys, if it’s not all of them. I’m really willing to do that.”