KEY POINTS

  • Francis Ngannou expressed his interest to fight inside the boxing ring
  • Dillian Whyte challenges Ngannou in a boxing match
  • Whyte on the potential bout: "I'd knock him clean out"

Enough of the words and let the punches do the talking. That is what Dillian Whyte demands from UFC's Francis Ngannou after the MMA star expressed his interest in fighting inside the boxing ring.

"If (Ngannou) wants it and wants to earn some real money, let's get it on and stop talking about it. Don't talk about it, let's just do it," Whyte told Sky Sports.

Whyte, who currently holds the WBC Interim Heavyweight title, thinks the 33-year-old Cameroonian-French is a little too ambitious in wanting to enter boxing's lion's den.

"Ngannou is dumber than he sounds if he thinks he's going to do anything in boxing," Whyte said as fired some taunting shots at Ngannou, saying it would be no sweat for him to defeat the UFC’s No. 2-ranked heavyweight.

"If he turned up to fight me like the coward that he was against Derrick Lewis I'd hurt him and knock him clean out," he said, referring to Ngannou's UFC 226 heavyweight grudge match in July 2018.

"That was officially the most boring fight in UFC history. The only thing more boring is his personality. If I called him a potato it would be a compliment. He reminds me of that other deluded coward Deontay Wilder.

"Ngannou has to be the most boring man on the planet. A speck of dust has more personality."

The brewing hostility was sparked by Ngannou's earlier interview with Sky Sports where he confirmed that he intends to test the waters of heavyweight boxing.

"Yes, I would have a boxing match," Ngannou said. "Whoever is possible and whenever is possible. The top heavyweights. I am always confident in my power. I have no doubts with my power."

But despite not naming any preferred opponent, Ngannou still appeared to have poked the beast in Whyte, who is set to defend his WBC title against Alexander Povetkin.

The MMA heavyweight, meanwhile, is coming off an impressive first-round stoppage win over Jairzinho Rozenstruick in their heavyweight showdown earlier in the month at the rescheduled UFC 249 inside Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida.

Francis Ngannou
Francis Ngannou will be looking to get back to winning ways after his first UFC loss. Pictured: Francis Ngannou enters the octagon for his fight against Stipe Miocic in their Heavyweight Championship fight during UFC 220 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, Jan. 20, 2018. Mike Lawrie/Getty Images