"Don't do it" - Tom Aspinall explains why he doesn't want Francis Ngannou to box Tyson Fury

Francis Ngannou has long expressed his desire to venture into the world of boxing and seems interested in pursuing a match with Tyson Fury. While a crossover showdown between the two heavyweights would certainly make for an intriguing bout, Tom Aspinall believes it wouldn't end well for 'The Predator'.

Speaking with TheMacLife, the UFC heavyweight explained why the Cameroonian UFC titleholder shouldn't push for a boxing match with the WBC Heavyweight Champion. Aspinall said:

"Don't do it. Don't do it, man. I think people like MMA fighters that think they can box, they can box well for MMA! But when you're fighting actual boxers, they need to seriously do something like hard sparring with world-level boxers. And then, they will be like, 'Oh s**t, actually I need some serious work here.' It's like American football and rugby. They're both contact sports, they both involve a ball where you're running at each other, but they're completely different. There's a lot of aspects that are the same but they're boxers, mate. They can really punch."

Watch Tom Aspinall talk about Francis Ngannou's boxing ambitions in the video below:

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Francis Ngannou to likely sit out the majority of 2022 to recover from knee surgery

After successfully defending his heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270, Francis Ngannou revealed that he entered the bout with a knee injury. The champion explained that he tore his MCL and damaged his ACL during his camp just weeks before the fight.

Speaking to MMA Fighting, Francis Ngannou’s manager Marquel Martin confirmed that his client will require surgery and will be out of action for about nine to 10 months to recover from the injury.

“He [Ngannou] is going to have to get surgery, likely in March. Then the timeline can vary, obviously, but probably looking at 9 to 10 months [recovery time]. His MCL is completely gone but that can heal on its own. So likely he’s going to repair the ACL and then if there is other damage that needs to be repaired like the MCL or anything else, he’ll fix that up.”

Francis Ngannou’s surgery comes at a time when he is in the middle of a contract dispute with the UFC. His latest outing against Gane marked the last fight on his current contract with the promotion. However, due to a champion's clause, he'll remain a part of the UFC on his active deal until December.

'The Predator' has insisted that he’s not holding out for a specific amount of money. Instead, he is seeking terms that would allow him more flexibility and freedom with his career.

As of now, it remains to be seen if the champion will accept a deal with the promotion or wait out his current deal to pursue free agency.