Francis Ngannou definitely has options when it comes to opponents, but the former UFC heavyweight champ and current PFL Superfight champ decided that boxing was his calling. He is adamant about returning to boxing next and said the same to Sportsbook Review: “I want to. I’m not done with boxing. It’s not the MMA that is easy. It’s the sport that I understand better and I have more experience in, but I say go for boxing.” However, despite going toe-to-toe with the biggest names in boxing, his payout compared to prominent names in the boxing world remains relatively low.
Now the thing is, MMA fighters do not make as much as boxers make from a fight. The main reason? Boxing as a sport falls under the Ali Act, while MMA doesn’t. So boxers end up earning more than MMA fighters because the bouts present a bigger percentage of the same to the athletes. On top of that, there is a skillset difference between MMA fighters and boxers. Even Ngannou acknowledged this to MMA Mania, “There is a lot of elements in MMA that’s way complicated for boxers to crossover than for MMA fighters to crossover to boxing. I need to see them do some practice. Maybe one of them have the wrestling skill. You don’t have the grappling skill. We need to see.”
Francis Ngannou recently called out Deontay Wilder even after acknowledging the latter’s reputation of having immense knockout power. He said to Sportsbook review, “Maybe not in his past two fights, but Deontay Wilder is known as a guy that knocks everybody out or tries to knock you out. I’m going against that guy, and I myself can knock someone out. Deep inside me, there is a little bit of ego, like I know I hit harder.”
Following the callout of Wilder, Chael Sonnen provided a viewpoint regarding Ngannou’s fight against Fury. He recently said, “That was charity. Those guys were bragging about how much they made. They didn’t make anything. They were given something. They don’t understand the difference. But there is a difference. If somebody loses because you did not generate money that you were paid, you were given charity. Now I’m only bringing that to you, to emphasize that I just stay away from this topic. It’s just it’s the road to nowhere.”
MMA: UFC 270-Ngannou vs Gane, Jan 22, 2022 Anaheim, California, USA Francis Ngannou speaks with media following his championship victory at UFC 270 at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports, 22.01.2022 00:01:41, 17551666, NPStrans, Francis Ngannou, Honda Center, MMA PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xGaryxA.xVasquezx 17551666
What is the story of Francis Ngannou and Tyson Fury? Despite earning way more than he did in the UFC, ‘The Predator’ only took $10 million for his fight against Tyson Fury, while ‘The Gypsy King’ pocketed a cool $50 million. From Chael Sonnen’s perspective, ‘it was a disaster’ from a financial standpoint for the Cameroonian.
Even so, if the world knew the unexpected turn the fight was going to take, then the fight could have sold arenas. The timing and place were all wrong according to ‘The Bad Guy’. His perspective about this was also related to a possible Oleksandr Usyk and Alex Pereira boxing match. Is that fight going to be profitable or a ‘charity event for the fighters’ like Fury vs Ngannou as Sonnen says?
Rallying behind ‘The Predator’ in his bid against Deontay Wilder is none other than Dewey Cooper, the famed coach of Mike Tyson. Let’s see what he had to say.
Francis Ngannou’s last puzzle piece is Deontay Wilder
According to his coach Cooper, the present era of boxing is ending with Oleksandr Usyk, who sits atop the mountain right now. However, the trinity of greats includes Fury and Anthony Joshua – two men that Ngannou has already fought. “Tyson Fury probably doesn’t want to fight Francis right now. They’re already talking about Anthony Joshua and Francis. But, you know, there were three great fighters of this era – the era’s ending now with Usyk – but you had Tyson Fury, you had Anthony Joshua, and you had Deontay Wilder,” Cooper said to Ngannou’s head coach Eric Nicksick.
The Cameroonian had always claimed that he wanted to fight Deontay Wilder, and he is in luck because the latter is down with the idea! ‘The Bronze Bomber’ said to TMZ, “I can only imagine what it’s like to lose a child, man. I never hope to even feel that feeling of it. I hope life is going beautifully for you, bro. That’s a conversation I’m still looking to get in there, in the mix, and talk about.”
So do you think this fight will happen? Will Ngannou see a significant rise in his pay for this bout or will it be a ‘charity event’ like Chael Sonnen pointed out? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
The post “You Were Given Charity” – Francis Ngannou Faces $10M Truth on Tyson Fury Purse After Deontay Wilder Callout appeared first on EssentiallySports.