MMA veteran Francis Ngannou is eager to get back in the ring for a rematch with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
Last Saturday night in Saudi Arabia, Ngannou came close to pulling off one of the biggest upsets in boxing history when he lost a ten round split decision over Fury.
Two judges saw it 95-94 and 96-93 for Fury, with the third scoring for Ngannou with a tally of 95-94.
Ngannou dropped Fury with a hard left in the third round, and then fought him on even terms for the rest of the way. Fury sustained a cut on his forehead and a bruised left eye.
Because of going through a fight that was much tougher than expected, Fury is pushing back his planned undisputed clash with WBO, IBF, IBO, WBA champion Oleksandr Usyk. Their fight was set down for December 23 in Saudi Arabia, but now appears to be heading to a new date in early 2024.
Ngannou is hoping that Usyk would be willing to step aside to allow to him to fight Fury – a scenario that is highly unlikely.
“The rematch is what I want next the most,” Ngannou told TMZ. “As for right now I feel like there is a lot of options for me, but I want to choose wisely, and I would go for the rematch first.
“My best scenario in boxing is to wait for Fury. If Usyk can step out and let me fight Fury, I’ll fight Fury, then I’ll let them do whatever they do. I’ll go back, maybe do some MMA fight and come back with some people in boxing. I’m planning to fight potentially twice next year, [starting] maybe February or March.”
While Ngannou believes he was robbed of a win, he does not plan to appeal the scores.
“Who am I gonna appeal to? [The British Boxing Commission]? I have no chance. I think that’s just another way of humiliation,” Ngannou said.