Francis Ngannou has faced backlash for rejecting a boxing match with Jake Paul.

Ngannou, who hasn’t competed in over a year, was approached by Paul as a replacement for Gervonta Davis, who was removed from his scheduled bout with the YouTuber. However, Ngannou, who has stepped into the boxing ring twice – against Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua – turned down the proposal, calling Paul “disrespectful.”

Paul, in response, is not happy with Ngannou. The UFC icon told TMZ: “I mean, don’t disrespect me like that.

“If it was about the number, I would have tell you. I’m just not interested, it makes no sense for me. It’s not what I’m looking at right now. The fight makes no sense. That’s what I think, that’s my position.”

However, UFC icon Chael Sonnen thinks Ngannou should have seized the chance.

“I would have really liked if that match [had] gotten booked. I think that would just solve so many problems from a storyline perspective,” he said.

“I don’t understand how Jake would be asking more from Francis than Francis asked of Tyson Fury. I don’t know how Jake would be asking more of Francis, more of a favor than Francis asked of Joshua, I wanted to understand that.

“It was disrespectful, rather, is the word that he used. If you’re a prizefighter, you got to fight to get the prize. It would seem to me if you had an opponent with a promoter on the phone whose chequebook is flush, it would seem to me it makes perfect sense.

“If you turn down fights that you don’t think are hard, or you turn down fights for any reason, it really doesn’t make you a courageous and noble man. It makes you unemployed.”

Paul will no longer compete next Friday as originally planned, but he intends to step back into the ring in December. Ryan Garcia and Terence Crawford have both ruled themselves out as potential replacement opponents for Davis, and while Nate Diaz accepted an offer, Paul has confirmed via social media that the rematch won’t happen.

Anthony Joshua had been in discussions to face Paul before the YouTuber announced his bout with Davis, and the British fighter’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has indicated the former two-time world champion would be willing to step in on short notice.