Heavyweight boxer and WBO interim champion Joe Joyce recently revealed that he would be thrilled to have the opportunity to box against UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
For the past two years, Ngannou has expressed a strong interest in getting into a boxing match with a top heavyweight.
Earlier in the year, there was talk of a crossover boxing match between Ngannou and WBC world champion Tyson Fury. While the two fighters have had discussions about it, Ngannou’s contract with the UFC has currently not allowed the fight to materialize.
‘The Predator’ is currently recovering from a knee injury after undergoing surgery.
He is also still involved in tense negotiations with the UFC. Ngannou’s UFC contract expires at the end of the year – and the Cameroonian refuses to fight unless he has a new contract that satisfies him.
If Ngannou becomes a free agent in the coming year, it is expected that he will certainly pursue his goal of fighting in boxing.
I’d love to fight Ngannou… let’s keep it simple with boxing: Joe Joyce
Prior to his 2020 fight with Daniel Dubois, Joe Joyce fought a few rounds with Ngannou at the UFC’s Performance Institute in Las Vegas. Based on their training session, Joyce was very impressed with Ngannou’s punching power.
Speaking to GiveMe Sport, while the Olympic silver medalist reveals no interest in switching to MMA, Joyce says he would happily step into the squared circle against Ngannou.
“I sparred Ngannou before the Dubois fight, he’s a big, powerful unit,” said Joyce, “It was a good experience to spar him. He’s a freak of nature. He’s got phenomenal power. Most of the time I was trying to get away from those power shots to avoid getting my head taken off.”
“I’d love to fight him though but let’s keep it simple with boxing. The UFC is too much, man. Credit to all those guys because they have to train so hard in all these different areas like they have to be so well-rounded in the kicking, the striking, the grappling and the submissions and all that so it’s a lot you have to train for,” the Brit added.
