Top-ranked heavyweight boxer shocked by Francis Ngannou’s UFC purse: ”Considerably less than what I got”
Former UFC champion Francis Ngannou has been the subject of heavy criticism following his departure from the promotion earlier this year, with many believing that “The Predator” made a huge mistake when he vacated his heavyweight title. In an exclusive interview with MMAnytt, top-ranked Swedish heavyweight Otto Wallin shared his thoughts on Ngannou’s move to boxing.
Since walking away from the UFC, Ngannou has repeatedly stated that his next fight will take place in the squared circle, with stars like Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury being touted as possible opponents. No fight has been announced yet, but Wallin believes that it’s just a matter of time before we see Ngannou box.
”I don’t really think it would be that difficult for Ngannou to work with boxing promoters,” Wallin told MMAnytt (translated from Swedish). ”Especially now that he’s a free agent. There are probably a lot of (promoters) that would love to match him up with their guy, like Fury, Wilder, (Anthony) Joshua or even Dillian Whyte – knowing that he’s coming from MMA.
”It’s two different sports, even if they box and do a lot of stand up as well. We’re specialists in boxing. I think it’d be pretty easy for him to get a big fight. He’s worth several million dollars and I think he’d get that no problem.”
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Otto Wallin’s reaction to Francis Ngannou’s UFC purse: “Makes no sense”
Last year, “The Gypsy King” Fury expressed interest in boxing the UFC champion; lately, however, he’s remained mum on the subject. For Ngannou, a bout against Wilder could be on the table instead. “The Bronze Bomber” isn’t considered a particularly technical boxer, but that doesn’t change Wallin’s prediction for a potential fight against Ngannou: Wilder by early KO.
”Wilder hits incredibly hard and is incredibly dangerous so you can’t really argue that. Obviously if the fight were to happen in MMA then Ngannou would finish Wilder just as quickly.”
While Wallin doesn’t expect Ngannou to defeat any noteworthy boxers, he does believe that the MMA star would earn substantially more in boxing per fight than he did during his stint in the UFC.
”As far as I know Ngannou got $600,000 in his last fight (at UFC 271) when he was world champion. And that’s considerably less than what I got when I fought Fury. That really makes no sense because when I met Fury I was a nobody. Then you’ve got Ngannou who is world champion and famous internationally, so obviously he should be earning much more than that.”
It remains to see who Ngannou ends up facing, and whether we’ll see him compete in MMA or boxing next. It’s worth mentioning that Ngannou has been in negotiations with MMA promotions as well, among them PFL.
For Wallin, the focus currently is on finding a big name to add to his record. He’s previously only been defeated by “The Gypsy King” Tyson Fury.
