Though he has other business to attend to first, Francis
Ngannou is already looking ahead to a future showdown with
Jake
Paul.

Ngannou will face Philipe
Lins in the co-main event of the Ronda
Rousey–Gina Carano
card staged by Most Valuable Promotions on May 16 at the Intuit
Center in Los Angeles. During a press conference on Tuesday,
Ngannou addressed the possibility of fighting Paul down the
road.

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“No, I’m not interested in fighting Jake Paul,”
Ngannou said. “I’m interested in beating his ass. Not fighting
him.”

Paul, the former YouTube personality who has fashioned a career as
professional boxer, is also the MVP co-founder and was in
attendance at the presser. Paul didn’t back down from the challenge
when given the microphone, though it appears “The Problem Child”
would prefer the fight take place in boxing rather than MMA.

“I’m down. I’ve always been down. You were the option before
Anthony
Joshua, and you ran like a duck,” Paul said. “And I bet you
didn’t think I would last longer than you did with Anthony, either.
So, you just know that you get worked in boxing. And I would love
to see it someday.”

A Matter of Respect

Both Ngannou and Paul have a common boxing opponent in Joshua.
After dropping a closely-contested split-decision loss to Tyson Fury
in October 2023, Ngannou suffered a second-round knockout loss
against Joshua in March 2024.

Paul squared off against Joshua this past December, falling via
sixth-round knockout after spending much of the bout either
circling away or desperately clinching against his larger opponent.
Paul suffered a broken jaw that required surgery as a result of the
damage he absorbed in the fight.

Prior to facing Joshua, Paul had expressed interest in locking
horns with Ngannou. “The Predator” is far more motivated to face
Paul now than he was then.

“You were just being a small boy, not understanding, being a little
disrespectful, and that’s why I want to kick your ass now,” Ngannou
said. “I really didn’t want to fight you, but now I want to beat
you. There’s a difference.”

IMAK ADMIN

By IMAK ADMIN

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