By Dane McGuire
Francis Ngannou has been vocal about wanting to box since before his exit from the UFC and being stripped of the heavyweight title. Now it appears he has a believer with a lot of clout in the sweet science behind him.
Retired 50-0 Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather, now an exhibition fighter and promoter is hoping to sign ‘The Predator’.
“I would love to work with (Ngannou),” Mayweather said speaking to Bet Online. “I would love to sign him to Mayweather Promotions. He’s a very skilled guy, unbelievable, and if he wants to fight one of the top heavyweight guys, he should do it.”
A special rules bout against heavyweight great Tyson Fury has been casually talked about but as of yet hasn’t come to fruition. Mayweather believes Ngannou should do just fine against the pitbulls of boxing’s heavyweight scene.
“Absolutely. With his size, strength and power – anything can happen. With his power and his toughness, he can make some noise in the heavyweight division,” Mayweather said.
As far as a return to MMA goes, Ngannou is open to it but also wants to box and after discussing things such as having a fighter advocate and more, talks with the UFC went south. UFC President Dana White has already said Ngannou won’t be back under its banner.
“We negotiated with him for years,” White responded when asked if the UFC would ever try to re-sign Ngannou. “It’s over. That’s over. He’ll never be in the UFC again.”
In a recent update, UFC and WEC veteran turned broadcaster Chael Sonnen shed some light on the situation as far as the next step Ngannou might take in MMA.
“Chatri [Sityodtong] said to me ‘Chael as you know we’re in talks with Francis’ and he said ‘I predict you’re going to hear some big news of Francis coming very soon,” Sonnen said.
“So I said ‘Did you mean to say that’ and he re-answered it”, Sonnen continued. “He said well, ‘I wasn’t trying to hint that I’ve already done a deal with Francis, as a matter of fact – to be candid with you – where I’m at in the process is I have one final presentation to make to Francis’. So by saying that Chatri is letting us know that I’ve been in talks with him, I’ve made him some offers, we didn’t get it done.”
UFC veteran Dan Hardy, now working for the PFL believes that is where he will end up while BKFC is already out of the running over money. As of this writing Bellator may also be another option.
“We’ll have Francis Ngannou in no time coming over and fighting for it,” Hardy told Middle Easy. “I just feel it in my bones. I know he’s coming. I just know he’s coming. I can just feel it. It makes sense. His demands for the UFC is exactly what the PFL are offering.”
“Everything that he was asking for from the UFC, it’s already on the table over here as long as the money’s on the table alongside to match the heavyweight king’s purse, then I think you’ll be happy and I think we can certainly do that for him,” Hardy continued.