MMA great Francis Ngannou reveals the big-name boxer he’d like to fight next and gives his verdict on Anthony Joshua: ‘Maybe he should retire’

Francis Ngannou has opened the door to a potential cross-over fight against rising heavyweight boxing star Daniel Dubois, claiming that a meeting between them would be a ‘tough fight’.

It comes as the 38-year-old is set to make his long-awaited MMA return on October 19, following a pair of huge paydays in boxing.

He’ll step into the SmartCage to take on Brazilian star Renan Ferreira, in what is being dubbed the ‘Battle of the Giants‘.

It will be Ngannou’s debut in the Professional Fight League (PFL), with the 38-year-old set to make an eye-watering $14.8million, according to Forbes.

While the former UFC heavyweight champion told Mail Sport he is focused on the fight against Ferreira, the Cameroonian also offered his thoughts on Dubois’ sensational fifth-round knock-out victory against Anthony Joshua.  

‘Dubois is a very tough opponent,’ Ngannou said.

‘I think for years they’ve been talking about him like an upcoming guy in the heavyweight division. His last fight [against Joshua], he proved it.

‘So yes, it would be a tough fight, a very tough fight,’ he added, speaking about a potential matchup between himself and Dubois.

Dubois (pictured) secured a sensational knock-out victory against Anthony Joshua in September

Ngannou (left) will square off in the SmartCage against Renan Ferreira (right) in his PFL debut

‘But again, no fight is not doable, because nobody believed he was going to take Joshua out.’

While many had questioned whether it was time for Joshua, 34, to hang up the gloves, the British fighter has remained defiant through that cloud of uncertainty, insisting that he will continue boxing.

Joshua’s last victory came against Ngannou back in March, with the Brit securing a devastating second-round knock-out victory against the MMA star.

And Ngannou has also offered his opinion on whether Joshua should retire.

‘That’s his decision,’ he told this masthead. ‘He’s the only one who can make that decision. 

‘If he feels like it can continue. He continues. He feels like he doesn’t have that motivation or that focus anymore, then maybe he should retire.

‘But only he knows exactly what to do because he’s still young. I mean, he has some years in front of him before he’s really getting there.

‘But again, it’s up to him.’

Having now squared off against Joshua and Tyson Fury in the ring, Ngannou revealed he had ‘missed the cage’.

Ngannou also offered his take on Anthony Joshua’s (pictured) future in boxing and whether he should hang up the gloves  

Joshua’s (right) last win came against Ngannou (left) in March, where he bested the MMA star with a second-round knockout victory 

‘Well, I’m very excited to get back. I miss the cage, it’s been over two years, almost three years. I miss the cage. 

‘I’m going to get to step into the cage and not just any cage, it’s the SmartCage. It’s gonna be fun.’

He also sent a word of warning to his upcoming opponent, Ferreira – with their bout to screen in Australia exclusively on Stan Sport.

‘What I will say is that he [Ferreira] knows that he has a different beast in front of him – nothing he has ever faced,’ Ngannou said.

‘I hope he knows that because if not, he’s going to find out in not a nice way.’

Earlier this year, Ngannou was also called out by Fedor Emelianenko, who recently came out of retirement to square off against Tim Johnson and Ryan Bader.

‘A lot of people have been calling me out lately,’ Ngannou said when asked if he would consider a fight against Emelianenko.

Ngannou (left) insisted that Ferreira (right) will come up against a ‘different beast’ next week

‘I mean, Fedor Emelianenko is a fighter that I truly respect. I think he has his face on the ‘MMA Mt Rushmore’. But as for right now, my focus is on Renan Ferreira. If you talk about MMA, my focus is on him.

‘And after that fight, we can talk of the potential of what can happen or not.’