Jake Paul had his jaw broken in two places in his last foray at heavyweight, but could his return be around the corner.
Francis Ngannou (0-2) makes his return to the cage this month against Phillipe Lins.
The former UFC heavyweight world champion broke his way out of mixed martial arts in 2023.
A crossover to the sport of boxing saw the Cameroonian take on the WBC heavyweight world champion at the time Tyson Fury (35-2-1, 24ko’s).
What ensued next shocked the boxing and wider sporting world.
Naturally, Ngannou was written off from the beginning, but one left hand changed that.
Fury went down in round 3, and the Gypsy King scraped his way to a split decision victory.
Many believe Ngannou was unlucky to not have his hand raised on his professional debut.
He got another shot at the big time just a number of months later, this time against Anthony Joshua (29-4, 27ko’s).
However, this time round, things didn’t go to plan.
Down and out in the second round.
Not only that, he was on the receiving end of one of the biggest right hands in the sports history.
We’ve not seen him since that day in 2024, but the return is imminent.
Jake Paul and Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) are promoting the return to the cage, but could this turn into a matchup down the line.
Both have fought AJ, there’s narrative and storyline, and the former UFC champ is not ruling it out.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Ngannou stated:
“I wasn’t looking into that, but I think I at some point I need to handle him.
“I think I can kick his ass, if I might say so.”
“At first, I wasn’t so excited [about fighting him],
“Of course [I respect him as a boxer],” said Ngannou, who faces Lins on the Ronda Rousey vs Gina Carano bill at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.
“I have been watching his career so closely from the beginning, because in the beginning nobody believed in him. And then I think he proved to everybody that he was serious.”
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