This is one of the main reasons why people thought that Ngannou couldn't possibly be good at boxing: boxing is a far more lucrative sport than MMA, so surely no one with the talent to become a high level heavyweight boxer would opt for MMA instead. This is flawed logic for a variety of reasons, as was the similar "logic" which said that Usyk couldn't compete against the top heavyweights because he spent most of his career in the far less lucrative cruiserweight division. That was a less forgivable mistake: former 175 pounder Spinks had beat Holmes and former 190 pounder Holyfield had beat Bowe. Fast transitioning MMA fighters pre-Ngannou not making a big impact in heavyweight boxing didn’t mean that Ngannou (GOAT MMA HW KO artist) couldn’t, just as 4x cruiser titlist De Leon and 2x unified cruiser titlist Mormeck failing at heavyweight didn’t mean that Usyk wouldn’t succeed. Ngannou began training in boxing at 22 and moved to France at 26 to pursue a pro boxing career. He was convinced however by MMA trainer Fernand Lopez to transition to MMA in August 2013, making his debut in November at 27. Why did ex-MMA fighter Lopez encourage him to switch sports? Some theories: 1. So Lopez could make money out of him as his MMA trainer (Ngannou has expressed the feeling that he was exploited by Lopez) 2. France has a much smaller boxing market than Britain or America 3. The talent pool in MMA is far more shallow, enabling Ngannou (who was already on the clock on account of his late start) to rise to the top much more rapidly and reliably than he could in boxing. After he got to the top he would have great crossover opportunities (boxing, film, TV etc.) It was the "safe" option in terms of guaranteeing good money (he was signed to the UFC with just a 5-1 record), with the realistic prospect of great money while cutting out having to fight boxing journeymen, gatekeepers and contenders on the way up 4. There is far less “ducking” in MMA, which also enables much more rapid progress 5. By the time that Ngannou did cross over to boxing he would be a highly experienced striker while simultaneously being underestimated: he’s got 14-15 years of striking experience, boxing and MMA and has sparred high level boxers extensively 6. Ngannou's attributes may be more naturally suited to MMA: there's no KD rule (Ngannou wouldn't benefit from it as he's never been dropped and no KD rule enables him to finish fights early with much more regularity, increasing his fear factor while reducing wear for him and footage to study for future opponents) and he's got an enormous frame, giving him a wrestling advantage but further inhibiting his cardio, which is more important in a 30-36 minute boxing match than a 15-25 minute MMA fight
His trainer said he's already too old to have zero boxing fights and that he would be hard to promote. Maybe true.
The UFC has the biggest platform in all combat sports by a lot, meaning it has the most power to quickly give someone exposure and make them a star. It also tours all over the world constantly and looks to sign athletes from different markets to boost the UFCs profile there, and has a larger roster than basically every major boxing promotion combined even though MMA as a sport has a much smaller talent pool. And they will sign people off the back of having a handful of fights if you fit what they're looking for, and they then have the ability to push you very quickly if they want to. So all that considered, if you're already 27 years old and living in a boxing market like France (as opposed to for example the UK) your prospects of lets say a 5 year plan of making it to the UFC and making decent money and being somewhat famous are massively higher than getting to a level in boxing where you'll be making the Fury, AJ type money, even if you're actually pretty good at boxing.
