Francis Ngannou: 'I will definitely still do some MMA fights, but I'm not leaving boxing'

Francis Ngannou intends to continue boxing for the rest of his career.

After pushing WBC champion Tyson Fury to the brink this past October, Ngannou (0-1) draws Anthony Joshua (27-3) in a 10-round boxing match Friday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

PFL champion Renan Ferreira is waiting for Ngannou, and while the former UFC heavyweight champion still intends on stepping back in the cage for MMA competition, he won’t leave boxing behind.

“I will definitely still do some MMA fights, but I’m not leaving boxing,” Ngannou said Monday at the grand arrivals in Riyadh. (h/t DAZN Boxing). “Remember, at the beginning, it was boxing. I wasn’t aware of MMA, and for more than a decade, it was all about boxing, dreaming about boxing.

“And then even when the opportunity came around, it was for me, an opportunity to shine, to be a world champion, and then potentially switch to do the crossover and go back to boxing because I feel like it was something that I had to fulfill in order to be at peace with myself. In order to retire peacefully, I needed to do that boxing because I just love it. I can’t tell you why, but I love it, and I enjoy it.”

Ngannou stunned the masses when he stood toe-to-toe with Fury and dropped him. He pointed to fundamentals as the key, something his mentor Mike Tyson inspired him to focus on,

“I’m not a fool,” Ngannou said. “I know that I’m not at the same technique level as those guys. I’m not saying you’re calling me a fool, I’m just pointing it out. I know the situation. All of them, they’ve been doing this sport for over 20 years at a high level, full-time, and I’m just getting in, although I was passionate about it my entire life. But, I know that I’m not going out there to show something extravagant that I know, that I’ve been practicing. Stick on the fundamentals.”

For more on the matchup, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Joshua vs. Ngannou.