Dillian Whyte, has called out former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou, for a fight in both the ring and the cage.
Ngannou is now a free agent following his recent release from the UFC and has flirted with a switch to boxing in the past.
Whyte isn’t the only boxer to have called the Cameroonian out in recent days, Derek Chisora revealed that he was trying to fight the UFC heavyweight champion on an Instagram live.
However, the key difference is Whyte has a background in kickboxing, where he had a record of 20-1, meaning a fight in the cage could be plausible.
In an interview with Sky Sports, ‘The Body Snatcher’ said he would ‘bash up’ the former UFC superstar in both the ring and the cage.
“I would love to fight him,”
“Obviously he is a champion, a dangerous guy, but I think I would bash him up.”
“It would be a very interesting fight, because we both have got a martial arts background and he’s up for jumping in at the deep end, fighting someone like me. It would get lots of interest and eyeballs.”
“These guys know there is more money to make in boxing than there is in MMA,”
“A lot of these boxing guys pick on these MMA and martial arts guys and beat them up in a boxing ring, but they are not brave enough to get in the cage. I would happily fight him in boxing and in the cage as well.”
Whyte, who lost in his first world title challenge last April to Tyson Fury, continued by claiming it’s easier to knock people out in MMA and that Ngannou hasn’t proved he can do it in boxing.
‘The Predator’ boasts an impressive record of sixteen stoppages in his seventeen MMA victories, all coming in the second round or sooner, yet Whyte seemed undeterred.
“Obviously he’s a good fighter, he’s strong, but there are a lot of holes in his game. He is throwing from far away, he is a slugger. In MMA, that style runs, because you have small gloves and you just need to connect anywhere with someone to do damage.” “But this is boxing, you need skills and good timing. He can’t just come out and start slugging and think you can knock people out.”
“It is much easier to knock people out with 4oz gloves that have next to no padding. Can he do the same with a 10oz boxing glove? I know I can.”
“End of March, early April something like that. That would give him plenty of time for a full camp.”
Whilst Whyte joins the waiting list alongside Chisora, fans and fighters will have to wait for an official announcement to learn if Ngannou will make the move to boxing.