In the spring of 2021, Francis Ngannou knocked out Stipe Miocic and won the UFC title. Ngannou’s statistics were gloomy (for his rivals) – of the last 10 fights he won, 10 were won earlier than expected, 9 – by knockout, 3 – by knockout in the first minute … At the same spring 2021, amateur boxer, master of world-class sports Soslan Asbarov made his debut in bare-knuckle fighting. And in the fall, Asbarov won by knockout against heavyweight champion Daud Kelbikhanov and became very popular in the fight segment of YouTube. Yet he and Ngannou lived in different dimensions.
But since 2021, Ngannou has only fought one fight, defended the belt and negotiated with the UFC for about a year, ultimately deciding to leave due to unsatisfactory financial terms. Asbarov at this time had several boxing fights, officially became a professional boxer (3-0 record) and defeated Dmitry Kudryashov.
When Ngannou announced he was retiring from the UFC and planned to focus on boxing, it wasn’t just top boxers who wanted to fight the MMA puncher. One of the organizers of the fights in Russia wrote that he was ready to pay Ngann $3 million for the fight against Asbarov. We immediately saw two problems there: Ngannou wanted more than three million dollars for the fight, and…
– Are you generally ready to fight Ngannou; were you told that they wanted to do such a fight?
“Of course I know. I am always aware of everything. These fights that are organized for me, I am aware of it first. It is clear that for some this fight seems somehow unrealistic. It is clear that Ngannou is there in the UFC…in MMA…the best fighter. But boxing is a different discipline. If there are two fighters, why not do this fight. There are just certain details that need to be settled to make such fights. Yes, Ngannou charged too much for this fight so I think it is unlikely to happen.
– Could you call Dmitry Kudryashov, your opponent, to prepare Ngannou: big, hitter?
– Not necessary. I enjoy doing my job and developing the technique that I prefer. Of course, big and tall guys would be needed for the fight, but we have those in the gym. I already train with them – for me there would be nothing surprising in the difference in weight and height. We would be ready.
What would be the difference in kilograms?
– 30-35 kilograms.
Would you like to bulk up for this fight?
– No I will not. I might have gained five kilos maximum, but my working weight is there and I want to stay there.
– How to box with Ngannou?
– Take the technology. to classify. Boxing school. I will not measure the force of the impact with him. I will take technique and speed.
– The majority imagines Ngannou as a person who enters the ring and demolishes. Explain why this will not happen to you?
– I would start working from the first rounds, and not give him a single round, give him reason to beat me at least in one round. If it was an eight or ten round fight, I would give it my all every round and try to pick it up. I don’t know if it would have been possible to knock out in one round or not, only the Almighty knows that, but I always tune in to the long fights.
– Does an athlete have the ambition to drop it? It sounds like “drop Ngannou”.
– Of course, I would like to drop it. But the fight would be good in terms of the media, in terms of everything else. There would be a high profile fight – for Ngannou, his professional boxing debut. And for me a loud fight. Of course, that would be interesting to me.
– And how do you visualize Ngannou’s knockout (Ngannou has never won by knockout in his professional career)?
How can I see it? I see it differently. Usually when preparing for a fight, it happens that I go to bed and just before going to bed I start imagining the fight, how I fight, how I win. But it’s different for me every day. I win differently every time. As the Almighty wills, so it will be.
– And when was your last start in amateur boxing?
– Officially, I, in my opinion, had the last fight in 2016. Then I did not speak for four years, then they called me to speak with bare fists.
– Would you agree to fight for the minimum fee, just because it’s such a high profile fight? Let’s say for an amount less than 100 thousand dollars.
– It would be possible to go up in the stamps, of course, because this fight is media-interesting for me. If you ask me, I can fight for free if there is interest in the media component. If you detonate it directly, you can negotiate.
Francis Ngannou defended the UFC belt on January 22, 2022 at UFC 270 by defeating Cyril Gan by unanimous decision. In the duel, the fighter suffered a serious knee injury, from which he recovered for more than six months. Asbarov held his last fight on December 25 at CSKA Arena, knocking out Joel Shoigrin.
Source : MatchTV
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
