Oscar De La Hoya would love to promote Francis Ngannou in boxing
Oscar De La Hoya has stated his desire to promote Francis Ngannou following the former UFC heavyweight champion's release.
Ngannou had been pushing for a new deal with the UFC that would include the organization helping to promote a superfight with boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. The promotion evidently refused and earlier this month stated that 'The Predator' had turned down multiple lucrative contracts, leading to his exit.
Tyson Fury wants super fight with Francis Ngannou😳
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Now a free agent, the Cameroonian is exploring his options. That seemingly includes in boxing as he continues to seek a bout with Fury.
Oscar De La Hoya, who has his own beef with Dana White, recently weighed in on the situation. According to De La Hoya, who is the Golden Boy Promotions CEO, he would be more than willing to have a conversation with Francis Ngannou about his future:
During an appearance on The MMA Hour, De La Hoya said:
“I would love to speak to [Ngannou]. Any fighter who is an MMA fighter, I’m here, I would love to speak to anybody. I would love to pick their brain, I would love to maybe sit down and discuss some business. I’m all for it. I think these fighters who are MMA fighters who have been with the UFC or are with the UFC, I would love to just talk from fighter to fighter and pick each other’s brains and see what happens.”
Catch Oscar De La Hoya's comments here (1:30:00 mark):
Francis Ngannou shares details on timeline for Tyson Fury contest
Now a free agent, Francis Ngannou is fully focused on making his dream a reality as he prepares to take the boxing world by storm.
The bout with Tyson Fury looks increasingly likely, especially after Fury confirmed there are talks for a special mixed-rules contest between the two. Ngannou has since spoken with TMZ Sports to provide an update on the fight and when fans should expect their epic clash to go down:
"Yes, I have talked to somebody. Some of his advisors, hopefully. But they are working on a fight with Usyk in April. So, until then, he will not be free. But I'm just trying to see if we can have an agreement before that fight. That will also give me some time to get prepared for a boxing fight. So, I have no problem with that. The timeline that I am expecting that I hope will be like sometime in June [or] July, which is doable. So, let's see, I think it's too early to make a conclusion."
Catch Francis Ngannou's full interview here: