“I shouldn’t have cut him,” Francis Ngannou willing to wait for rematch playfully blaming himself for delay of Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk fight

Francis Ngannou is willing to wait for the bout between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk before rematching with Fury.

“I shouldn’t have cut him,” Francis Ngannou willing to wait for rematch playfully blaming himself for delay of Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk fight

Francis Ngannou lost fight against Tyson Furya via controversial split decision ( Image via Imago )

Francis Ngannou has been quite straightforward about his intentions. He wants a rematch with Tyson Fury as his next fight and is ready to wait to make it happen. In an exclusive conversation with TMZ Sports, Francis Ngannou opened up about his thoughts on the situation.

Francis Ngannou came close to defeating Tyson Fury in their most recent fight. Ngannou acknowledged the pre-existing contract for Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury’s fight, initially scheduled for December 23. He said: 

I would be willing to wait… they had a contract already…they are going to fight sometime in February instead of December 23, which is my fault…I shouldn't have cut him… maybe we would've run it back early next year.
YouTube video

Ngannou’s reference to the cut is about the head injury he inflicted on Tyson Fury. The injury has delayed Fury’s return to the ring by several months from the predetermined date. Thus it is unlikely that Fury and Ngannou will run their match back in the ring anytime soon. Even though other fighters have expressed interest in taking on Francis Ngannou, he has Tyson Fury as his top priority. While a boxing match may be on hold, Ngannou is now a fighter at PFL and Chairman of PFL Africa. He may explore other opportunities while he waits to step back into the ring against Fury.

FS Video

During the fight, Ngannou managed to knock Fury down heavily in the third round. The fight was closely contested, and there was controversy regarding the outcome. One judge scored the fight 95-94 in favor of Ngannou, while a second judge had the same score. However, Fury won the fight by split decision, which was met with some disagreement in the boxing world.

Mike Tyson is proud of Francis Ngannou’s performance against Tyson Fury

Mike Tyson was quite impressed by Francis Ngannou‘s recent performance against Tyson Fury. Tyson trained Ngannou to go the full 10 rounds with Tyson Fury in his debut boxing match. During this intense battle, Ngannou even managed to knock down Tyson Fury in the third round. This was the only knockdown in the entire fight. However, the ultimate decision was a split-decision victory for Tyson Fury.

Mike Tyson Francis Ngannou
Mike Tyson was part of Francis Ngannou’s camp for his fight against Fury ( Image source: Instagram)

Mike Tyson played a crucial role in training Ngannou for this fight. Many were doubtful of Ngannou’s chances of success. Tyson himself expressed his pride in Ngannou’s commitment during an episode on his podcast Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson. He said: 

I was really proud of Francis Ngannou because he listened to everything I said…The champ went down. I’m happy… I’m sure we’ll see a lot more of Mr. Francis.

Mike Tyson had clarified that he did not train Francis Ngannou but instead mentored him ahead of his fight against Tyson Fury. While Tyson did not serve as Ngannou’s primary coach, he was part of the MMA fighter’s camp. Both Ngannou and Tyson Fury are fans of Mike Tyson. His involvement was more about providing advice and guidance rather than direct training responsibilities.

In case you missed it!