Despite shining in his $10 million boxing debut, Francis Ngannou talks about how "it's hard for people to believe" in his boxing prowess

Francis Ngannou does not blame fans and experts for counting him out against top heavyweight boxers.

Ngannou left his home country of Cameroon with a dream to become a boxer. However, circumstances led him to pursue a career in MMA. The 37-year-old gave his best to the sport and reached it's pinnacle when he became the UFC heavyweight champion.

The stardom and competitive achievements in MMA made Ngannou a suitable candidate for a crossover boxing match with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. When the fight was announced, Fury was heavily favored to win due to Ngannou’s perceived lack of experience in boxing.

Ngannou proved the doubters wrong and gave ‘The Gypsy King’ a tough fight in his first-ever boxing match. For his efforts, he walked away with $10 million in earnings. Although he lost the 10-round contest via split decision, many felt that the Cameroonian deserved the victory, as he even scored a knockdown against the lineal heavyweight champion.

Ngannou is set to face former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua next. Although he is perceived as a serious challenge by the boxing community, the Cameroonian is still a betting underdog.

Ngannou, for his part, has no complaints about his underdog status. During a recent interaction with Ade Oladipo and Joshua for DAZN boxing, Ngannou said:

“You also have to understand that people will not believe in what they haven’t seen. You just come around with this guy that has a 0-0 on his boxing record and you’re telling people that he can box. Nobody has ever seen him in the boxing match or in the Olympics or any type of boxing competition. So it’s hard for people to believe, you know, that he can fight.”

Catch Ngannou’s comments below (5:10):

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Anthony Joshua summarizes what makes Francis Ngannou a legitimate threat

Francis Ngannou’s perceived lack of boxing-focused training has been cited as a hurdle in his way of defeating elite boxers. However, Anthony Joshua disagrees with this opinion.

‘AJ’ said that being an MMA fighter, ‘The Predator’ has the experience of competing against opponents that were better than him in one or more aspects of fighting. Joshua believes that Ngannou can maneuver around his weaknesses in boxing as well, which makes him a serious threat. He said (from 4:27):

“There’s a lot of stand-up game [in MMA]. In his game, people have takedowns, submissions, stand-up. [People are] better at kicking. So when he fights, he’s fighting people that have aspects that are good in every category. So he might fight someone that’s better than him in stand-up.”

'AJ' added:

“He knows how to box. In terms of training, we probably do more rounds in boxing than in the [MMA] fight. But he knows how to box, he knows his way around.”

Joshua vs. Ngannou will headline the Knockout Chaos event set to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 8, 2024.