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King of Kickboxing calls for crossover fight with MMA superstar Francis Ngannou
Kickboxing great Rico Verhoeven has thrown down the gauntlet and is calling for a fight against Francis Ngannou, the PFL heavyweight world champion and former UFC titleholder.
Before the Dutch-born Verhoeven can take on the Cameroonian slugger, he must first get past the dangerous Artem Vakhitov at GLORY 100 on Saturday night.
Vakhitov is a former light heavyweight champion, and top-ranked pound-for-pound striker who holds victories over fighters such as two-division UFC champion Alex Pereira.
‘The Predator’ Ngannou captured the UFC heavyweight world title with a thunderous knockout over Stipe Miocic and then defended this crown.
He walked away from the UFC and took on blockbuster boxing matches against heavyweight royalty Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua. The Cameroonian athlete then picked up the PFL heavyweight world title with a first-round knockout over the towering Renan Ferreira.
On a potential matchup against Ngannou, Verhoeven spoke to DAZN in an exclusive interview and said the following.
“The first thing that pops up is: crossover fight. I would love it. I think that is something that hasn’t been done before. Because we had the boxing world exchange with the MMA world. And that’s fun. But we’ve never had kickboxers exchanged in the mix. And they are way closer to each other. So, I think that is a fight where people will get excited.”
Boxing and MMA crossover matches have been some of the biggest fights of the past decade. From the blockbuster matchup of Floyd Mayweather Jr taking on Ireland’s Conor McGregor, to the aforementioned boxing heavyweight champ Tyson Fury facing Ngannou. These are monumental events that get sports fans talking.
While MMA and boxing have traded stars, it has been less common to see kickboxers get in the mix.
Lifelong strikers are dangerous in any sport. Former GLORY kickboxing world champion Pereira switched to MMA and quickly captured two titles in the UFC.
Former boxing heavyweight king Ray Mercer stepped into the kickboxing ring against Remy Bonjasky. Mercer was quickly knocked out at just twenty-two seconds. Tyrone Spong had an iconic kickboxing career and then transitioned to boxing and picked up continental titles, going unbeaten. Kickboxers are a challenging and dangerous opponent for anyone from the disciplines of MMA and boxing.
Both men have experience across professional MMA, boxing and kickboxing. Verhoeven is 1-0 in both MMA and boxing but has 65 victories in kickboxing. Meanwhile, Ngannou is 1-0 in kickboxing, 0-2 in boxing, with 18 victories in MMA.
If the PFL and GLORY Kickboxing are both interested, then the world will happily line up for a clash between Ngannou and Verhoeven. Boxing would be the neutral ground for both men. Ngannou is helping the PFL kick off PFL Africa, but has no future opponent booked.
‘The King of Kickboxing’ Verhoeven will have his hands full at GLORY 100 on Saturday, but afterwards is wide open and receptive for a showdown against Ngannou which could be a pivotal moment in sports history.
