Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Francis Ngannou has no regrets over facing Anthony Joshua after he was knocked out in the second round.

The Predator was dropped three times on his way to being stopped and suffered the first defeat of his boxing career. His performance failed to live up to the hype generated when he faced Tyson Fury. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion had dropped Fury in the third round, lasting the distance in an entertaining encounter. While he suffered a split decision loss, he did earn a top-ten WBC ranking. The defeat meant that was no longer the case, but Ngannou has no regrets about how things turned out.

Ngannou Reflects

“This is one thing that also helped me to be OK with it: as far as a training camp, I had my best training camp. I was in my best condition. The best. Even if we had to start this again, I really don’t see a thing that I should have done different. We did a good training camp in Riyadh and everything was good, except that fight day where things were very odd.

“I do not have any regrets. Now that I lost the fight, we can say anything that I’ve done wrong. We worked on everything, and everything was OK. This was all my [choice]. Even in southpaw, my defense is more sharp than orthodox. In the southpaw, to take a hit from the right back hand, this is something that in sparring never happened, and I’ve been there so many times practicing,” Ngannou said 

Ngannou’s Future

Ngannou has no plans to give up boxing, leaving question marks over his next opponent. He had been linked with facing Deontay Wilder in a two-fight deal before taking the Fury fight. This was based on one bout in boxing and the other in MMA. Wilder is also coming off a loss to Joseph Parker, raising doubts about whether he will fight again. That presents a possible opportunity for the two to face off in the ring. Tyson Fury recently confirmed that Wilder would be in a ‘massive fight’ next, while Ngannou has also left the door open for a possible fight.

“Yes, of course [I would fight Wilder]. Listen, I saw that some people, some people might have a lot of doubts, and not to say anything is guaranteed, not to say anything is certain. But, come on, man – I’m a fighter. We’re here to fight, and whenever it comes to fighting, whenever it’s time to fight, we go and fight. I can still fight anybody. I take a challenge, I go and I prepare for it, and I come again. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t work,” Ngannou revealed 

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