Francis Ngannou is all set to face Anthony Joshua for his second professional boxing bout. Following a memorable performance against Tyson Fury last year, fans are eager to witness the former UFC man in action again. Ahead of the fight, many are in awe to the extent Francis has managed to turn his life around.
For those unaware, Ngannou’s journey from being an illegal migrant from Cameroon to becoming UFC champion is a well-documented one. In what is a story of grit, determination, and perseverance, Francis has quite possibly one of the most inspiring backstories in all of combat sports. As such, he now finds himself set to face one of the biggest names in heavyweight boxing, Anthony Joshua.
Having bested Otto Wallin in his last fight, there was a growing expectation that Joshua would fight Deontay Wilder next. However, with the ‘Bronze Bomber’ losing to Joseph Parker, the opportunity arose for Francis Ngannou to step in instead. Thus, Sheikh Turki Alalshikh and the rest of the parties quickly got the formalities out of the way, and the fight is finally upon us.
How much money will Francis Ngannou make for his fight against Anthony Joshua?
For the most part, there was a big outcry about Francis Ngannou fumbling the bag after his departure from the UFC. After a considerable amount of time as a free agent, the Cameroonian put pen to paper and signed with the PFL. A lucrative contract to say the least, it allowed him to pursue his boxing aspirations whilst competing in MMA, something that the UFC was not keen on.
As such, we saw the deal pay dividends for ‘The Predator’ when he took home a guaranteed payout of $10 million for his fight against Tyson Fury. Although he did not win the fight against the lineal heavyweight champ, his performance shook the boxing world, thus raising his stock tenfold.
Francis Ngannou went from making $600K in his final fight with the #UFC, to making $20 million (not factoring PPV points) to fight Anthony Joshua.
Talk about betting on yourself 👏🤑
(#JoshuaNgannou purses via. @Independent) #Boxing #MMA pic.twitter.com/yIC7gAqNzz
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) March 7, 2024
With that said, Ngannou is set to bag another seven-figure payday when he faces Anthony Joshua on March 8, 2024. According to numerous sources, Francis will earn around $20 million for his upcoming fight. Notably, this will not include PPV sales either. Thus, it appears as though Francis will be making double what he did for the Fury fight.
Francis Ngannou’s financial conditions and final UFC purse
Ahead of his fight against Anthony Joshua, Francis Ngannou also had an interview with his old friend and former UFC welterweight champion, Kamaru Usman. Speaking to Usman and Henry Cejudo, ‘Pound 4 Pound’ podcast, Francis opened up about his financial struggles before leaving the UFC. As it turns out, he could have either accepted a $5 million contract and stayed or taken $600,000 for his last fight and left.
As such, Ngannou said: “You were talking earlier about the contract that I turned down. You [Usman] knew a lot about the stuff that I turned down from the UFC negotiation with my last fight in the UFC. I took $600,000 for my last fight in the UFC as opposed to $5 million that they were offering for the same fight. And I was broke. At the time I owed Usman $200,000. I was broke. It’s true!”
Although Usman humbly shook off the fact he helped Francis, the matter is not difficult to imagine. With that said, the 37-year-old now finds himself in an entirely different situation and on the brink of making more than 30 times his final UFC payday in one fight. Thus, it is safe to say that Ngannou’s gamble on himself has paid off massively and is an inspiration to many fighters stuck in a similar position.