This may be the biggest boxing match since McGregor-Mayweather.
According to boxing analyst Mike Coppinger of ESPN, a fight between two heavyweight champions Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou is officially set to take place on October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The announcement of this fight comes as a surprise to many, yet it’s not totally out of the blue. Back in early June, Fury and Ngannou got into a small social media feud after Dana White pitched Fury to fight UFC fighter Jon Jones. This comment triggered Ngannou as he was expected to fight Fury a couple years prior, yet wasn’t allowed due to his contract with UFC. Now, however, Ngannou fights under the Professional Fighters League and is able to fight whoever he wants.
The first rumblings of this fight came back in April 2022. After defeating Dillian Whyte to retain his WBC Heavyweight Title, Fury took time from his celebration to call out Ngannou. “Big Francis Ngannou is here today,” Fury said at the time. “He’s on my hit list in an exhibition fight, however he wants it: in a cage, in a boxing ring, boxing gloves, UFC gloves, we can make it happen. I think everyone wants to see it. He’s a monster of a guy, I’m a monster of a guy, so it will be a clash of the titans for sure.”
At that point in time, Ngannou was still a part of UFC and the reigning Heavyweight Champion after beating Ciryl Gane by unanimous decision in January 2022.
While Fury teased the idea of an MMA style cage match, it seems the two will meet in the boxing ring. Ngannou has been outspoken about transitioning to boxing as it is one of the reasons he switched over to PFL. “My next step has to be boxing,” Ngannou said back in March. “I want to do one boxing match first, and then maybe go back to MMA because I still enjoy MMA. I want to do a couple of fights in boxing.”
Well, Ngannou’s wish is about to come true. The WBC is still figuring out exact rules for the fight and whether a title belt will be on the line. I assume it won’t be considering Ngannou has never boxed before. Imagine this guy wins and becomes the Heavyweight Champion of the World after his debut. They would need to make a movie about him.
Honestly, I don’t exactly see this fight getting the attention that McGregor-Mayweather got at its time. Fury is the biggest name in boxing by a mile. Yet, Ngannou hasn’t fought since 2022 and is far from a household name. I really hope I am wrong, however.
I think that this fight has the ability to be one of the most entertaining brawls we’ve ever seen. McGregor-Mayweather was a whole bunch of defense and hugging. I expect blow after blow in this fight until someone gets knocked out cold. These two combined are a whopping 530lbs of complete muscle and power. Fury has never lost a fight in his entire life while Ngannou is said to have the hardest hitting punch in all of MMA.
I know it feels like Fury should mop the floor with Ngannou as it is his home sport, yet I wouldn’t count out Ngannou immediately. Don’t forget that Ngannou holds the world record for most powerful punch at 96 horsepower. To put that into perspective, that would be like getting run over by a Ford Escape traveling at max speed.
I’m super pumped about this fight and even more pumped about the betting lines. Obviously, Fury is the favorite. Yet, I don’t mind a little Ngannou plus-money action. Could he shock the world? Maybe, but either way we’re definitely getting a show.
