Exclusive: Coach discusses Francis Ngannou's road to potential boxing heavyweight title fight

A Francis Ngannou title fight in heavyweight boxing would be a dream for the former UFC heavyweight champion. According to Dewey Cooper, one of his coaches, that dream could become a reality depending on how 'The Predator's' upcoming boxing match with Anthony Joshua plays out.

During an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda's own Dylan Bowker, the Cameroonian phenom's coach was asked for his thoughts on the possibility of Ngannou fighting for a heavyweight boxing title. He was more than complimentary of the former UFC heavyweight champion.

"Everywhere in the world, every demographic, the fans, the writers, even the fighters said Francis Ngannou won on October 28th. So now, his great performance created this second opportunity. Me, personally, I'm pretty sad that the Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk just got postponed, because we're already here in Saudi Arabia. They were supposed to be fighting on February 17th. We were going to be their ringside, watching."

As for what Ngannou and his camp were going to be ring-side for when it came to the postponed matchup between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury, his coach made a jaw-dropping revelation.

"Your Excellency, Turki Al-Sheikh, the man who's making all these great fights happen here in Saudi Arabia, had already said that the winner between Usyk and Fury will face the winner between Ngannou and Joshua. So we were already feeling like, okay, we'll be fighting for the undisputed belts at the end of 2024. But now, the Usyk-Fury fight has been postponed."

Check out Dewey Cooper's comments about Francis Ngannou fighting for a boxing title (12:20):

Whether Ngannou will indeed go on to challenge the winner of the Usyk-Fury fight if he gets past Joshua will be a question that many will ponder in the coming months. For now, though, 'The Predator' must not look past his opponent, a former world champion boxer.

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Francis Ngannou defied expectations against Tyson Fury

Ahead of his boxing match with Tyson Fury, Francis Ngannou's chances of even being competitive were dismissed by virtually everyone. However, the Cameroonian knockout artist shocked the world when both men locked horns. Not only did he drop Fury, but he dragged him to hell and back in an extremely competitive bout.

Check out Francis Ngannou's knockdown of Tyson Fury:

In the end, he lost a split decision to Fury. But the decision was decried by many, who labeled it a robbery as the general consensus appears to be that Ngannou had done enough to earn the split decision win.