"Boxing now owes me something" - Francis Ngannou seeks boxing return to reclaim "respect and dignity" after KO defeat

Francis Ngannou suffered a vicious second-round knockout loss to Anthony Joshua in his second career professional boxing match earlier this month. 'The Predator' recently revealed that he doesn't plan to retire from the sport as he believes boxing owes him something.

Speaking to Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour, the former UFC heavyweight champion was asked if he is leaning towards competing in boxing or mixed martial arts next, responding:

"Right now, I don't know. I started to feel like boxing, it now owes me something that I have to claim. The way that this fight happened is not the way that it's supposed to or that it should've so I think now I need to do boxing to claim something, to claim my respect, to claim my dignity, to claim everything."

Ngannou continued:

"MMA is there. I don't really know. It depends. I think it depends on the time frame of what's happened and the time frame also [of] what is it, but maybe it could be MMA first. I don't really know, but yeah."

Check out Francis Ngannou's comments on his return to combat sports below:

Ngannou found success when he faced Tyson Fury in his professional boxing debut last October, with many viewers walking away believing that he was robbed of a rightful victory. However, that was not the case when he faced Joshua, as he was outclassed from the beginning of the fight. It is unclear who 'The Predator' would face if he returns to the boxing ring.

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Francis Ngannou recently addressed his knockout loss to Anthony Joshua

Francis Ngannou's second-round knockout loss to Anthony Joshua marked the first time he had been knocked out, or finished, in his combat sports career. 'The Predator' recently took to Instagram Live to address the loss, stating:

"Heads up to Anthony Joshua, to his team, that executed their plan properly. Hats off to my team, too, because they did a great job. I think I was the one that just didn’t execute the plan properly and maybe didn’t feel completely present. I was the only one that didn’t show up, let’s say that. Everybody showed up and did what should have been done. No blame to anybody. All the blame is just about me. That’s the game." [h/t MMA Fighting]

Francis Ngannou noted that he didn't feel right warming up in the locker room prior to the bout. He added that while he will take some time away, he is not done with boxing or mixed martial arts.