Francis Ngannou Says He's Been In Contact W/ Fury's Team, Wants Summer Fight

Francis Ngannou says he's been in contact with Tyson Fury's camp, and while the Gypsy King's next boxing match will likely be against fellow heavyweight champ, Oleksandr Usyk, the former UFC champ says they could fight mid-year!

"I've talked to somebody. Some of [Fury's] advisors, but they're working on a fight with Usyk in April. So, until then, he will not be free, but I'm trying to see if we can have an agreement before that fight," Ngannou told TMZ Sports from Cameroon.

"That will also give me some time to prepare for a boxing fight. I have no problem with that timeline. I hope will be sometime in June, July, which is doable. Let's see. I think it's too early to make a conclusion. It's too early to say anything about it but it's definitely something that we're looking into."

Of course, Fury and Ngannou haven't been shy about expressing their desire to box -- under somewhat amended rules (think boxing with a hint of MMA) -- and the combat sports stars even came face-to-face in the ring last year after Fury beat boxing star Dillian Whyte.

Francis believes fans want the fight ... even more so than the long-anticipated Fury vs. Anthony Joshua matchup.

"We've been talking about this fight the past two years. I think at this point, the people are waiting for this fight and talking about this fight more than the Joshua fight," Ngannou said while noting Fury-Joshua is still a huge draw.