Tyson Fury versus Francis Ngannou going on? A first look at the fight between two heavyweight champions

Two of the biggest stars in combat sport will clash when Boxing Tyson Fury meets MMA Francis Ngannou during a crossover event on October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Fans have called for a boxing match between Fury and Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight title, but instead, Fury will follow through on a plan that has been in the works for over a year.

After Fury retained his WBC title with a sixth round victory over Dillian Whyte in April 2022 at Wembley Stadium in London, Ngannou stepped over the ropes to begin the hype train towards an event to be completed 15 months later. The deal became much more viable when Ngannou, the UFC’s longtime heavyweight champion, parted ways with the Dana White-led promotion in January. 36 year old man from Cameroon re-exported with the PFL in May in a deal that allowed him to box.

Ngannou hasn’t played since the previous January 2022 win Ciryl Ganes to hold his heavyweight championship. He then underwent surgery two months later to repair the torn MCL and ACL.

So instead of Ngannou squared with Jon Jones In the Octagon or Fury vs Usyk, we’ll see the best of the big guys in each martial art go head to head in what is considered to be one of the biggest sporting events of 2023.

What does it all mean? ESPN’s Marc Raimondi and Mike Coppinger break it down:

Why did Fury, the heavyweight boxing champion of the world, fight Ngannou?

Coins: Fury is arguably the biggest boxing star after Canelo Alvarez and he absolutely loves to entertain, whether it’s wrestling in WWE or his upcoming Netflix show.

The 34-year-old from England has done an excellent job of marketing herself on social media, sending harsh messages to Usyk and Anthony Joshua about fights that never came to fruition.

Following Monday’s criticism from Usyk’s promoter, Alexander Krassyuk, that he should be stripped of his WBC title if he faces Ngannou, Fury taunted Usyk’s side about how much money Usyk would earn him . August 26 defended the unified title against Daniel Dubois in Poland.

Fury is sure to make exponentially more money for this bout with Ngannou. This is Fury’s second event in Saudi Arabia after WWE match against Braun Strowman in 2019.

It usually involves money and risk, and this clash with Ngannou will give Fury money while creating a bit of resistance in the ring. On the other hand, Usyk is a cunning, agile heavyweight who has beaten Joshua twice and will only be the slightly underdog to topple Fury for all the marbles.

Ngannou has long dreamed of boxing and showed off his stellar standing in the Octagon, but making his boxer debut against an all-time great was a very difficult one. Rumor has it that Ngannou could fight Derek Chisora ​​first, and although it will be a challenging match for any boxing novice, if Ngannou can get past Chisora, he will. Better prepare for Fury.

Ideally, Ngannou would fight two or three times against mediocre opponents before stepping into the ring with one of the best boxers in the world. But this is about money more than anything else, and Ngannou has never come close to making the tens of millions that Fury has made in three fights with Deontay Wilder alone.

Why is Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion, fighting Fury? How has this affected his MMA career?

Raimondi: Ngannou boxed with Fury for two main reasons. First, Ngannou has always wanted to box. It was his first sports dream, when he was a kid working in a sand mine in Cameroon. That’s why he leaving his homeland and risking his life to emigrate to Europe, a journey that saw him bravely cross the Mediterranean, spend time in prison in Spain, and live in a garage in Paris. All that stuff is for boxing; At that time, Ngannou didn’t even know what MMA was.

Only once in Paris, when he was spotted by a coach and told he should try MMA, did he go that route. He’s really good at it — in the UFC with his seventh professional fight — so he moves on. But boxing was always on his mind and part of his ultimate plan.

The second reason, and why Fury is the opponent and not the gatekeeper or companion, is the sheer amount of money Ngannou can make in a fight like this. While it is arguable that lower- and mid-level UFC fighters make more money than fighters at that same level, the top-level fighters – those who move tickets and units pay per view – earn exponentially more than their UFC peers.

“I’ve been waiting to see Tyson in the ring for the past three years,” Ngannou said in a statement Tuesday. “My dream has always been boxing, and boxing is the best. After becoming the undisputed MMA Heavyweight Champion, this is my chance to make that dream come true and solidify my position as a person. ugliest man on the planet.

Fury has earned more than $20 million in each of his last three fights. Comparatively, Ngannou earned just over $600,000 for his last UFC heavyweight title defense, a win over Gane in January 2022. Now, part of the reason is because Ngannou is doing it. old contract because he is planning to fulfill the obligations therein before becoming a free agent. But even if he did sign a new deal, which would be very lucrative, it wouldn’t come close to what someone like Fury earns in boxing.

Ngannou won’t cash Fury for this, his professional boxing debut, but you can be sure he’ll be paid handsomely, a life-changing amount.

As far as Ngannou’s MMA career goes, nothing has really changed. He’s still set to make his PFL debut next year against an opponent to be determined. That was always the plan when he signed the contract. The PFL is currently going through the 2023 season and will knock out a potential enemy for Ngannou next year, and the fight will headline a pay-per-view card. Ngannou’s contract with the PFL has the flexibility to allow him to box in addition to competing in MMA.

What happened to the Usyk war? Where does this leave the rest of the heavyweight division?

Coins: Fury and Usyk are in deep talks about an undisputed heavyweight title fight on April 29 at London’s Wembley Stadium when discussions collapsed at the 11th hour.

Usyk agreed to split 70-30 shortly, but insisted on taking most of the rematch if he beat Fury. Fury balked, and negotiations ended in March very openly, with one side blaming the other.

It’s a pity that the war can’t take place right now when it’s at its hottest. Usyk, the undisputed former cruiser class champion, after two thrilling wins over Joshua, and Fury head into a positive 2022 with TKO wins over Whyte and Chisora.

Usyk is 36 years old while Fury has retired twice, so any delay in the meeting increases the chances of us never seeing the fight. As a result, the once red-hot weight class has cooled and has a chilling effect on the rest of the glamorous weight class.

We’ve seen in boxing that as the big fights go on, momentum is created for other exciting fights, especially in that same division. Fury-Usyk will be an all-time heavyweight fight, a rare encounter between two heavyweight champions both in the top 10 pound-for-pound.

There are even rumors of a super doubles fighter in Saudi Arabia in December that will feature Fury-Usyk in the main event alongside Joshua-Wilder. Joshua and Wilder are still negotiating (AJ must first defeat Whyte in a rematch on August 12), while it is conceivable that Fury could still meet Usyk a few months after Ngannou.

But for all the money Fury will make, he could well enjoy another hiatus or quit the sport altogether. In the meantime, negotiations between Wilder and Andy Ruiz hit an impasse after Ruiz insisted on parity while Wilder pushed for a much larger cut.

But the second division of heavyweight remains promising with a rematch on September 23 between Zhilei Zhang and Joe Joyce and some exciting young boxers making noise.

Can Ngannou win? Is this an actual war? Did he do the canning again or did he take the bag and walk away?

Raimondi: Ngannou has enormous power in his hands and once again, he has been practicing boxing for a long time, even though he has never competed in the sport professionally. So he has a puncher’s chance.

But in reality, it will be a very tough fight for him to win. Fury is the best heavyweight boxer in the world. He has excellent defense and martial arts skills. Although he has strength, he is not just a puncher or brawler. He’s the linear champion for a reason. He’s technical and has superb footwork. Fury is an absolute few for any other elite heavyweight in the world, let alone someone who has never had a professional boxing match before. It’s not like Ngannou would go in there with a can of tomato or a lost opponent. Fury is the highest skill level imaginable, and it will take a lifetime trying to make up for that difference in experience.

However, it doesn’t matter whether Ngannou raises his hand at the end or not. Certainly, Ngannou and his team wouldn’t have entered this fight if they didn’t believe he could win. He is an extremely confident man and an extraordinary combat sportsman. But the real “win” here is just winning this war in the first place.

Remember when Ngannou left the UFC earlier this year and people were saying he was “out of pocket” or made a big mistake or made himself irrelevant? Now, he has a big contract with PFL equity in hand and a big boxing match with Fury lined up. Leaving the UFC was a huge risk for Ngannou. And yes, for a while it looks like it might not work at all. But now? This is a major coup for Ngannou and his team. Life changing money and the chance to hit the best boxer in the world with more money and MMA is waiting for him in the PFL.

Oh, he could lose in a fight with the best heavyweight on the planet. Big deal. So are others.

Ngannou’s team has enjoyed great success here. After this incident, Ngannou will most likely focus back on MMA and will definitely fight for the PFL. If he does boxing again, it’s completely up to him. And that’s exactly why Ngannou doesn’t want to be tied down to a limited UFC contract. He wants to control his own destiny and call his own blows. That’s exactly what he’s doing.