Francis Ngannou should be a very proud man tonight. Despite a razor-thin split decision loss to Tyson Fury, the Cameroonian can hold his head high. Moreover, his performance has seemingly brought him some unexpected benefits as well.
Following his departure from the UFC, Francis Ngannou set forth to pursue his dream of professional boxing. going straight for the WBC heavyweight champ, Francis set lofty targets for himself. On a night when many expected him to crumble and be nothing more than a welcome mat for the Usyk fight, Francis proved everyone wrong.
Dewey Cooper told me ringside after #FuryNgannou that Mauricio Sulaiman, president of WBC, told him Francis Ngannou will be ranked top 10 at heavyweight after tonight’s bout. pic.twitter.com/jbIxaXkKpm
— Mike Bohn (@MikeBohn) October 29, 2023
Not only did Ngannou survive, but he took the lineal heavyweight champion for a walk in his own garden. Unfortunately, close as it may have been, ‘The Predator’ fell short of his mission to defeat Tyson Fury. However, as a result of his phenomenal performance, Mauricio Sulaiman, president of the WBC, has revealed that Ngannou will be placed in the top 10 of the WBC heavyweight rankings.
Speaking after the fight, coach Dewey Hooper, who got the news from Sulaiman himself, said, “He’s better than most of the heavyweights in the top 10. So absolutely, you’ll see him again.” Having put in the most impressive performance out of anyone that has ever faced Fury, Ngannou is undoubtedly deserving of the ranking. On the night, the former UFC heavyweight champion not only went up against Fury but arguably beat him as well.
What has Francis Ngannou said about his future in boxing?
Understandably, Ngannou will feel hard done by with the judges’ scorecards. If not for the 96-93, and 95-94 by two of the judges, Francis would have rightfully won the fight. However, despite the setback, the 37-year-old was in high spirits and seemed very optimistic about the future. For the most part, there had been a lot of doubt regarding Ngannou’s ability to box. Despite all the noise and the mocking, the big man managed to shut up all his haters.
Moreover, Ngannou’s demeanor suggested that he wasn’t quite done with Fury just yet and wanted to rematch the British boxer. Seeing that Fury is currently signed on to fight Oleksandr Usyk next, it leaves a lot of avenues for Ngannou to explore in the meantime. Moreover, with him being introduced into the WBC rankings, the future is boundless for the former UFC heavyweight champion.
Speaking in his post-fight interview, Ngannou spoke about what the performance meant for him. “Tonight was about determination and dedication. Tonight was about hope, tonight was about faith in myself, in my dream, in my goal”. Further, Francis added, “Tonight was to prove to all the doubters, tonight was to gain some belief in myself again, to continue as an athlete and try to get my name up there”. Thus, as his coach Dewey Cooper mentioned, fans will definitely see Francis in the boxing ring again.
Having won the hearts of many and all who watched the fight, the people are firmly on Ngannou’s side. As such, his gamble to go into free agency after leaving the UFC has paid off, and massively so. All things considered, Francis’ performance against Fury has garnered him a lot of new fans, who will be keen to see what he does next.