Jake Paul is still healing from the broken jaw he suffered in his knockout loss to Anthony Joshua but he’s still looking ahead at potential opponents for his comeback.
Perhaps the name at the top of his hit list is former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who just recently signed to Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions for a return to MMA when he faces Philipe Lines as part of the Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano card on Netflix on May 16. After signing for the fight, Ngannou immediately started taking aim at Paul after there were talks to put them in a boxing ring together last year.
The bout never materialized because Ngannou wasn’t interested and Joshua ended up as the opponent instead. But Paul loves the idea of finally facing Ngannou in the ring and he doesn’t believe that would be a tough night at the office for him.
“I’m definitely going to keep on fighting,” Paul told Sky Sports. “We will see how the jaw continues to heal up. I would say there’s a long list of opponents. I think most recently Francis Ngannou was talking a lot of smack.
“I think that’s an easy fight for me. I think he’s a terrible boxer. I maybe want to go back up to heavyweight and knock him out like [Anthony] Joshua did and render him unconscious.”
Following his reign as UFC heavyweight champion, Ngannou left the promotion in free agency and signed with PFL while also pursuing a boxing career. In his debut, Ngannou took former heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury to a razor-close decision, which included a stunning knockdown during their fight.
Sadly things didn’t go nearly as well in his second fight after Ngannou was brutally knocked out by Joshua inside two rounds. Ever since then, Ngannou has continued to tease his potential return to boxing but no fights have materialized.
Perhaps that changes with a possible fight against Paul, although the always outspoken social influencer turned fighter doubts if Ngannou would actually take the risk to fight someone like him.
“He knows I lasted longer than him against Joshua,” Paul said. “I didn’t get put out. I think he maybe wouldn’t do the fight because deep down he would not want to get embarrassed. To me that’s a fun one on the list.”
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