In his professional boxing debut, Francis Ngannou faced off against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in Riyadh on October 28. Although Fury was anticipated to easily defeat the Cameroonian, Ngannou astonishingly pushed Fury to his limits and even managed to deliver the sole knockdown of the fight in the third round with a remarkable left hook.
Following an exhilarating and closely contested match, ‘The Gypsy King‘ was declared the winner by a split decision. While some were content with the outcome, many argued that Francis Ngannou should have been the victor and expressed dissatisfaction with the judges’ verdict in favor of the reigning heavyweight champion, citing it as a controversial decision.
Joe Rogan is among those who believed that Ngannou should have emerged as the victor. He also feels that Fury will not fight Ngannou in a rematch after such a close first fight between them. This is why he has been pushing for a unification bout against Oleksandr Usyk, according to the UFC color commentator. However, Rogan also feels that fans would be least interested in that as of now.
“Tyson Fury’s not going to fight him again. I’ll tell you that. He didn’t want any part of that. They tried to bring that up, and he said, ‘No, I’m going to fight Usyk for the world title’. Like, nobody wants to see that buddy! Nobody wants to see that,” said Joe Rogan on his podcast.
In light of the disputed outcome, Ngannou’s performance has received widespread acclaim, particularly when considering the challenging circumstances he faced.
Joe Rogan wants Francis Ngannou to continue boxing
Even though Francis Ngannou has expressed his desire for a rematch, it seems that heavyweight veteran Tyson Fury is looking ahead to an undisputed heavyweight title match against Oleksandr Usyk, scheduled for February. Nevertheless, Ngannou has swiftly risen to prominence as one of the most prominent figures in the world of boxing, attracting the attention of numerous heavyweight contenders eager to be his next opponent.
Even Joe Rogan feels that Ngannou should continue boxing, as, according to him, the former UFC champion would be able to defeat most of the heavyweights in the ring due to his extraordinary striking skills. Moreover, Rogan also expressed that he is a big fan of Ngannou’s mixed martial arts skills, but boxing is the place where the real money is.
While MMA is what made Ngannou what he is today, right now, a few matches in the ring might not be too bad for the ‘Predator’. What do you think about it? Tell us in the comments.