Francis Ngannou has been backed to leave the UFC to pursue lucrative boxing fights against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
Ngannou is currently the UFC's heavyweight champion but has fought out his current deal with the promotion. He is currently locked in talks with the company president Dana White over issues such as pay and a boxing clause in any new contract.
And heavyweight counterpart Curtis Blaydes believes Ngannou is capable of securing victory against boxing's leading names and has confirmed he would explore the same options in his shoes. “If I’m him, I’m just going to box,” Blaydes said on The MMA Hour. “They make a lot of money, and he would make a lot of money against [Anthony] Joshua or Tyson [Fury] or Deontay [Wilder]. He would be rich. So if I’m him, I would let my knee heal up and get ready to box.
“Based off the top boxers at heavyweight division I’ve watched, I think he does well, I think he has the reach. We know has the explosion and the athleticism. With those gloves, he may not have the same impact, but I think he can beat any of those guys.”
Ngannou is currently out of action after injuring his knee during his title defence against Cyril Gane which will leave him sidelined until later this year. However he is unlikely to pursue any further clashes in the UFC until his contract dispute is resolved.
He admitted before his fight with Gane that he would rather pursue a crossover bout with Fury than any tilt with UFC superstar Jon Jones, and has frequently traded verbal jabs with Fury over a potential ring meeting. The 'Gypsy King' proposed a meeting with UFC gloves and boxing rules which Ngannou countered with the reverse conditions.
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Fury will defend his WBC title against Dillian Whyte next month, but would be willing to come out of his planned retirement to face Ngannou next year. He believes any fight would be extremely successful if staged in Las Vegas and would be ready to take on the star in 2023.
"I am going to fight Francis Ngannou in Las Vegas next year – in March or February," he told iFL TV. "There’s been no talks this year, because I have got some boxing to do but next year we can have some crazy fights. It’s a massive fight.
"I believe it breaks all pay-per-view records in the United States. Two heavyweight champions going head to head."
If Ngannou is to re-sign with the UFC later this year, it will look increasingly unlikely that a boxing clash will make sense with White unlikely to entertain working as part of any iron square showdown.
