We asked DAZN's Todd Grisham for his take on three boxing bouts for Francis Ngannou that would attract fight fans and here's how he responded:
Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou
Tyson Fury, if he was just worried about winning that fight, he could dominate Francis Ngannou, make him look silly and make people wonder why they bought the pay-per-view or a ticket to see them fight.
Still, this fight would be perhaps the most prosperous for Ngannou, especially if Tyson Fury beats Oleksandr Usyk. But I’m afraid if Ngannou takes that fight and is made to look silly, which I think he would, no one would ever want to see him fight in boxing again. So that’s a cash-out option.
Deontay Wilder vs. Francis Ngannou
Wilder is a little bit more of a ‘he’s got a chance’ type of fight for Ngannou. Wilder is not going to move like Fury is going to move. He’s going to stand there and try to land that right hand. Who’s to say Ngannou can’t land a shot against him?
So this fight would be a little bit more plausible and the oddsmakers would probably agree with me. Fury would be at least an 8, maybe 10-1 favorite — if not bigger. Wilder might be a little bit closer.
But again, if I’m handling Francis Ngannou, I wouldn’t want to throw him into a giant fight against one of these two right out of the gate. You wouldn’t do that with a boxer and MMA fighter. Let’s say Canelo Alvarez says ‘Hey, I’m going to switch over to MMA.’ Why would you put his first fight in there against Alex Pereira?
Zhilei Zhang vs. Francis Ngannou
I think the 'Big Bang' is the best bet. Zhang is nearly 40-years-old, he’s much slower and I think his style would be somewhat similar to Ngannou to where they just kind of lumber around methodically and try to land a punch.
Ngannou wants to stay as far away from a talented boxer as possible. Like Usyk would make him look entirely silly in my mind. But Zhang, the “Big Bang,” would be the best option because hey, maybe Ngannou even wins that fight.
Not to mention, they could have it in China. England and America aren’t the only places you can make money. That fight in Asia … it reminds me a little of the K1 days where you have Alistair Overeem walking down the ramp and fighting someone like a Bob Sapp. It’d be a huge money-making contest and one that I think Francis could be much more competitive in versus those other two.