Francis Ngannou suffered his second boxing defeat, facing a brutal knockout at the hands of British heavyweight Anthony Joshua. Ngannou, who has stayed positive despite the loss, spoke about his defeat on The MMA Hour on March 18.
The ex-UFC heavyweight champ didn't make excuses for his performance but described his fight day as “weird.” He mentioned feeling tired throughout the day, sweating during warm-ups, and not feeling fully present during the fight. Even when he got hit, he was more surprised by falling down than by the punch itself.
“When I was in the corner [after the first round, my coaches] were talking to me. And then my memory, vision, everything kept going. I don't remember when I came back from the stool to go back to the second round,”
“That's how weird it was. So from there, in the stool in between rounds, I wasn't there anymore. Some days it's just not your day.”
When asked about his future in either MMA or boxing, Ngannou seemed to think the latter was best for his future.
“Right now, I don’t know but I started to feel like boxing is now owing me something that I have to claim,” Ngannou said.
“The way that this fight (Joshua fight) happened it’s not the way that it was supposed to or should’ve so I think now I need to do boxing to claim something, to claim my respect, to claim my dignity, to claim everything,” Ngannou continued.”
Francis Ngannou’s future fights
Ngannou's first boxing match was notably more successful, despite ending in a loss. He went the distance against Tyson Fury and narrowly missed victory earning him considerable respect from numerous figures in the boxing world.
When questioned about his preferred opponent for his third boxing match, the 37-year-old mentioned Tyson Fury, citing “question marks” surrounding their initial encounter.
While Ngannou is focused on competing in boxing he expressed excitement about a potential return to MMA, noting that it's something he feels comfortable with.
“I still get excited about the idea of fighting in MMA. MMA now is like, not the easier one but it’s the one I’m used to,” Ngannou said. “I know in any fight you can lose but at least in MMA there are a lot of things I understand and things I can control, unlike boxing which is the wild-west.”
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