The former UFC welterweight champion Kamaru Usman wants to see the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk test himself against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
Kamaru Usman Want’s to See Oleksandr Usyk Against Francis Ngannou
Oleksandr Usyk was able to accomplish what Francis Ngannou wasn’t able to last Saturday night (18th May 2024). This is due to Oleksandr Usyk being able to defeat Tyson Fury due to a split decision. This victory meant that Oleksandr Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era.
Despite an impressive effort by Francis Ngannou, he was defeated by Tyson Fury by a split-decision when they faced each other last October 2023. However, this fight has been very controversial as many people felt that Francis Ngannou did enough for the victory.
Kamaru Usman is part of those people who believe Ngannou should have seen his hand raised at the end of the fight. Many MMA superstars feel that Francis Ngannou deserves another chance at facing one of the boxing heavyweight elites. Speaking on the Pound 4 Pound Podcast Kamaru Usman says;
“I know it’s crazy… but I would love to see [Usyk] fight a guy like Francis Ngannou,”
“Yes, I wanna see the level of skill here.”
“Yes he schooled the other guys, but Francis is the biggest puncher out there. “
“But I want to see how Oleksandr Usyk is able to break a guy like that down.”
Tyson Fury Isn’t the Only Mutual Opponent
While Oleksandr Usuk and Francis Ngannoy may share a common opponent in Tyson Fury. Fury is not the only opponent they share. This is due to both fighters previously fighting Anthony Joshua. Unlike Fury, Anthony Joshua had no problems being able to defeat Francis Ngannou. Joshua was able to knock out Ngannou inside the first two rounds to show off an impressive performance. This is the opposite of Usyk who was able to defeat Joshua firstly by unanimous decision and then by a split decision.
Usyk was the fighter to be able to dethrone Joshua of his WBA, WBO and IBF titles back in 2021. Oleksandr Usyk was then able to defend the titles back in 2022. In the first encounter, Anthony Joshua was outclassed in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as he fell to a wide unanimous decision defeat.
However, in the 2nd fight, it was much closer with Joshua being able to take the nod on one of the judge’s scorecards. However, public opinion is that Anthony Joshua lost the fight by two to four rounds. Looking at Usyk against Ngannou on paper it doesn’t look like a competitive fight however, you can never say never in the heavyweight division due to the power these fighters have.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
