Shawn "Showtime" Porter was impressed by Francis Ngannou's boxing debut against Tyson Fury last week ... telling TMZ Sports he could see the former UFC legend having a successful boxing career in the heavyweight division.
ICYMI, Ngannou lost by split decision to Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) on Oct. 28 in Saudi Arabia ... and even though it was his first boxing match ever, Francis put on a good performance, including a knockdown in the 3rd round.
"Unfortunately, even though Ngannou showed himself, again, to be very strong, showed himself to be prepared for this fight, he also showed he does not have enough boxing mechanics to win enough rounds to beat Tyson Fury," Porter said.
Shawn -- who won 31 fights in the welter/middleweight division -- believes Ngannou's execution could make him a decent heavyweight boxer in the future ... once he gets a couple of fights under his belt and some familiarity with the sport.
"His lack of experience showed because there were rounds where he essentially did zero to win those rounds," Porter said.
"If he's able to find a pace, he's gonna get some heavyweight fighters some trouble because he's big enough to fight there, he showed he's strong enough to fight there and the guy is athletic. He got skills!"
Even Ngannous's age (37) doesn't stop Porter from believing he can be tough in boxing ... saying fighters don't even get to their prime until their mid-30s and heavyweights age slower than other weight classes.
However, Porter -- who became a boxing analyst after retiring in 2021 -- does point out that Fury didn't fight hard either ... but he's not taking anything away from Ngannou's debut.
"He underperformed," Porter said about Fury. "He wasn't prepared for this fight."
Porter isn't the only one who believes Fury didn't come ready ... undefeated boxer Shakur Stevenson told us the same thing, saying Tyson was "off that night."
Ngannou will definitely get more chances to prove himself and his team revealed this week that a decision, as to who his next opponent will be, is close.