‘They don’t want that smoke’: Ngannou says high-level boxers will never test MMA waters

Francis Ngannou came up short against two of the best heavyweight boxers of his generation — but he doesn’t expect many boxers to contemplate a temporary switch to mixed martial arts.

The Cameroonian fighter was narrowly defeated by then-WBC champ Tyson Fury last year, losing out to the ‘Gypsy King’ by split decision in a blockbuster bout in Saudi Arabia last October. However, Ngannou’s second effort in the boxing ring this past March was less successful as he was knocked out in the second round by a clubbing Anthony Joshua right hand.

But Ngannou, who returns to MMA in October to fight giant Brazilian Renan Ferreira under the PFL banner, doesn’t believe that the likes of Fury or Joshua would ever seek to test themselves in the cage — and nor does he blame them for this stance.

“They don’t want that smoke. Nobody wants that, and I wouldn’t want it either. I don’t blame them,” he said recently.

“There is a lot of elements in MMA that’s way complicated for boxers to crossover than for MMA fighters to crossover to boxing. I need to see them do some practice. Maybe one of them have the wrestling skill. You don’t of the grappling skill. We need to see.”

One boxer, though, who had expressed a tentative interest in competing in mixed martial arts, or at least in a mixed rules bout, was Deontay Wilder — the former WBC heavyweight champion who has more recently lost four of his past five boxing matches.

And Ngannou is more than open to fighting Wilder but says that it only makes sense under boxing rules.

“I would love that fight,” he said. “Pure boxing, don’t be delusional here. That’s where we both stand a chance. But if we go to MMA, only one man will stand a chance. It’s a fight that I want; I have always wanted the fight. At some point, we had a discussion that didn’t go too far. But we wanted to make this fight happen. I have the rematch with Fury and Deontay Wilder on the wish list.”