Francis Nganou Dreams Of Becoming A Boxing World Champion

“My dream since I was a kid was to become a boxer. I always knew that I wanted to get a part of boxing in my career before the end of my career.” – Francis Ngannou

“Obviously UFC business is priority at his current state, but Francis is very serious about boxing – that was his first dream. That’s what he left Africa to learn how to do. Not MMA. A lot of people don’t know that” His manager Marquel Martin told SkySports

Ngannou is the current UFC heavyweight world champion and has taken the MMA sport by storm, with limited experience and training compared to his rivals – but his dream since a child has always been to be a boxer. The African is known for being the hardest recorded puncher in the world.

The UFC champion has often made reference to watching Mike Tyson his youth and it was during such years, that Ngannou dreamed of becoming a boxing world champion one day. He most definitely has the power to complete in the sport but pugilism which is often known as the ‘sweet science’ requires great skills and ring IQ, as well as good psychical attributes to become a world champion.

It’s a big ask to develop and learn the sweet science in a short space of time but when you consider the speed at which he learnt MMA and became a champion – it is possible. And as a sport, there is much more to learn i.e wrestling, jiu jitsu, kick boxing, muay thai and so on. Whilst boxing is a much simpler form of fighting in comparison, the skillset required at the elite level is immense. A champion will need to have great footwork, great upper body movement, eye-hand coordination, punch variety and punch selection, high fight and ring IQ and great mental strength – its more than simply throwing knockout punches.