WBC chief Mauricio Sulaiman has revealed that former UFC champion Francis Ngannou may leave the organization's top-10 heavyweight rankings following his early defeat to Anthony Joshua.
Sulaiman said in an interview with talkSPORT:
100 per cent [we stand by the decision to rank him in the top 10], just by facts. We don't go or rule or make decisions by popularity. It is not a popularity contest. Ngannou came close to beating the WBC champion Fury, knocked him down, and it was close to a split decision. We are doing the rankings for this month as we speak and we will see where the committee places Ngannou.
Joshua and Ngannou met in the ring in the main event of an evening of boxing on the night of 9 March in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In this fight, Anthony won by knockout in the second round.
Joshua's record includes 28 wins (25 by knockout) and three losses. For Ngannou, this was the second consecutive defeat in the professional ring.