Category: Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou

Tyson Fury retirement? Champ lays out at least five more fights

Posted on by Zane Simon in Boxing, MMA News, Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury, PFL, Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou

No one can question Tyson Fury’s physical gifts or his skill in the ring. A massive 6′ 9″ heavyweight, Fury is best known for his lightening reflexes and his fantastic ability to work behind a powerful jab. There have been, however, plenty of questions asked about his dedication to being a pro athlete.

Despite an Amateur career that saw him win Olympic gold in 2008 and a 34-0-1 unbeaten record, Fury has had notable trouble maintaining his fitness and form over the years—battling substance abuse and depression along the way. Unified heavyweight champion in 2015, the ‘Gypsy King’ left the ring for nearly three years, abandoning his belts, before returning to competition in 2018. Despite a 9-0-1 record since his comeback, rumors that Fury may consider retiring altogether have regularly dogged the WBO champion.

Tyson Fury brushes off retirement talk, lays out future fight plan

For fans who might be extra concerned that Tyson Fury’s recent cancellation of a planned bout with Oleksandr Usyk might mean the end of his career was looming on the horizon, it seems the 35-year-old is hoping to quell his doubters. Despite delaying the Usyk bout twice now, Tyson Fury remains steadfast that he is not only preparing to face Usyk twice in the ring, but has a whole slew of future fights he’s looking to make happen.

“I keep hearing talk of people saying that I should retire or I’m going to retire soon or whatever,” Fury wrote said in a video posted to social media (transcript via MMA Junkie). “I ain’t retiring anywhere, I’ve got two fights with Usyk, for the undisputed twice. Then I’m going to fight AJ at least once. Maybe twice if there’s a rematch, if he wants one after the first battering I give him, and then I’m going to fight Ngannou again and that’s just to start. So there’s five little fights for you to wet your appetite with. I ain’t going nowhere. Nowhere. I’m 35-years-old in the prime of my life.”

Francis Ngannou preparing to return to MMA

Tyson Fury’s revelation has to be good news for Francis Ngannou, who shook the boxing world last year, when he took Fury to a narrow majority decision loss, after knocking down the Fury down early in the bout. For a debut performance that was seen by many as a walkover warmup fight for Fury on his way to fighting Usyk in December, Ngannou’s performance crowned him as an immediate threat to the heavyweight boxing elite.

When Deontay Wilder failed to pick up the win this past December, in a bout that was expected to set the stage for a long teased fight against Anthony Joshua, Ngannou was perfectly placed to step in instead. Ngannou and Joshua will face off on March 8th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Despite having talked up a Fury rematch as a top priority, however, and despite Fury’s apparent interest in making that bout happen as well, it doesn’t sound like fans should expect to see Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou 2 in 2024.

“We’ll have another event in the second half of the year, this summer likely, and we expect Francis to return to MMA in the PFL Smartcage,” PFL CEO Peter Murray announced in a recent interview with BBC sport.

Although no opponent for Ngannou’s MMA return has been announced at this time, apparently the PFL plans on making the details of the booking public during their upcoming February 24th ‘Champion vs. Champion’ PPV card. That event will feature elite talents from across Bellator & the PFL facing off in Riyadh, as the first crossover following PFL’s acquisition of the former Viacom MMA promotion. From the sound of things, it seems fans can expect to see another PFL PPV event later this year.

As for Ngannou, it seems he only has one thing on his mind at the moment, and that’s his upcoming bout with Joshua.

“They say never say never. Nothing is impossible, right?” Ngannou said of his chances against Joshua in a recent podcast interview (transcript via MMA Fighting). “We don’t know the strength of Anthony Joshua, but even though I don’t believe he has that strength, but we’re going to find out in two months. We’re going to find out, and I think the reverse is going to happen. I’m going to be the one taking his soul.”

Team Tyson Fury talks Francis Ngannou plans

Posted on by Zane Simon in Boxing, Celebrity Boxing, Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou

At this point we all know that that Tyson Fury is the fight Francis Ngannou wants next. The former UFC heavyweight champion made major waves in the boxing world back in October, with a competitive split decision loss to the WBC heavyweight champion at the Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia.

As a result of his performance, Ngannou grabbed a top ten spot in the WBC rankings. Even though that seems like the kind of success that would leave him primed for other bouts, Fury is all that’s on his mind.

“The rematch is what I want next the most,” Ngannou said in a recent interview. “Because, as for right now I feel like there is a lot of options for me, but I want to choose wisely—and I would go for the rematch first.”

Tyson Fury’s manager says rematch is a priority

Fortunately for Francis Ngannou, while Tyson Fury currently has another fight on his horizon, it sounds like the ‘Predator’ might not be waiting too too long to see a rematch of his boxing debut. In a recent interview on the MMA Hour, Fury promoter Frank Warren made it clear that a February 17th booking against Oleksandr Usyk was still priority one, but Ngannou was not forgotten.

“I don’t know [if it’ll be next for Fury],” Warren explained, when asked about a rematch (transcript via MMA Fighting). “It’s like jumping too far forward. Let’s get the big one [with Oleksandr Usyk on Feb. 17] out of the way first, and then we’ll see where we go. But I do think [it’ll happen]. Tyson told me that he wants the rematch, and I know Ngannou wants it, because after the fight we were out there, we met at His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh]’s house and we had quite a lengthy conversation. He’s a nice guy, by the way. He’s a really nice guy, good team around him, and I’m quite sure we’ll do it again.”

Warren sings Ngannou’s praises

Despite (debatably) losing to Tyson Fury when the final scorecards were read, Francis Ngannou’s work earned him no end of praise and credit from the boxing community. While Warren was quick to note that Fury’s training for Usyk—before the Ngannou fight was made—had left him somewhat depleted for the bout against the Cameroonian-born Frenchman, he was also sure that Ngannou’s performance was no flash in the pan.

“When that first bell went and he came out and I watched as he shapes up, I thought to myself, ‘Oh, this is not what I’m expecting,” Warren said of Ngannou. “This is not.’ Normally, MMA guys, they’re a bit more square on. He actually had the stance of a boxer, and he could jab and he was switch hitting. And after a couple of rounds, obviously I believed Tyson was winning, but I thought, ‘This is not going to be the job that everybody’s saying it’s going to be.’”

“I think Ngannou will give any of the guys in the top 10—and he’s ranked now, I think couple of the organizations have dropped him in there, and they should do it, he’s just gone the distance with the world champion—I think it’ll give all of them a problem,” he added later in the conversation. “And there’s a couple of them there I think he could beat.”

Andre Ward does 180o on Francis Ngannou

The fact that we’re even talking about a Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou rematch at all is remarkable considering what the narrative for this fight was going in. All around the combat sports world, skepticism was high that Ngannou—a pro MMA fighter more known for his fearsome power than his technical skill—could look like any kind of high level competitive boxer, much less someone that could hang with a world champion.

A former undefeated, multi-division champion himself Andre Ward apparently wasn’t even watching the fight when it started. Electing instead to get a workout in, while Fury picked up an easy payday.

“I get on the Stairmaster, I’m doing my 20-30 minutes, but I’m looking over and I’m like, I don’t see anybody reacting,” Ward explained in a recent interview on the MMA Hour (transcript via MMA Fighting). “The fight is not over. So I yell over, I’m like, ‘The fight is still going?’ And the look on their face — they look, they say, ‘Oh yeah, it’s going and Fury may be losing.’ I’m like, ‘No.’ I get off the Stairmaster, right after that he gets dropped. I just couldn’t believe it, and it was a legitimate knockdown. I don’t know what to make of it.”

“I got to give him his credit. He deserves every bit of what he is getting. I know he’s going to have another big fight or two. He said he made more money in that fight than he did in his whole UFC career. That’s what it’s about, especially as you start getting older. I don’t have the words. I don’t know how that happened.”

Ward doesn’t feel Ngannou deserves ranking

Despite all his praise for Francis Ngannou’s great work against Tyson Fury, Ward still has a major issue with the WBC putting a number next to the Xtreme Couture talent’s name. Notably, that even if it was an exceptional performance against a top ranked opponent, Ward feels that a spot in the rankings should be representative of a body of work from a boxer, and not just a one-off performance.

“You don’t get to pick and choose which guy gets in the rankings depending on who you know or what’s going on in the back room,” Ward chided (transcript via Boxing Social). “Ngannou did a great job, but that’s a one off. He has to establish himself. They do whatever they want to do. The problem that I have with that… If we weren’t paying them 3% to keep the company going, you don’t make money outside of what the fighters are paying you.

“If we weren’t paying that, you do what you want to do. If you just want to have these rankings and it doesn’t really affect the fighters, that’s your business. This stuff affects guys’ livelihoods. Guys get phone calls saying ‘Hey man, we were getting close to a title shot we’re not gonna get out now cause they bumped you out the top ten.’ How? I’ve been played around with the rankings, and I just gave the belt back to the WBC at a certain time.”

“The sanctioning bodies, I have no respect for the way they play with these rankings, play with guys’ livelihoods and play with guys’ careers. Shame.”

Dana White extends olive branch to Francis Ngannou

Posted on by Zane Simon in Boxing, Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou, UFC News

By the time that Francis Ngannou had made his exit from the UFC and signed to PFL, his working relationship with Dana White appeared to be all but destroyed. The two men had battled back and forth through the media for months trading passive aggressive barbs and seemingly, only very rarely looking to hash things out behind the scenes.

“No. We negotiated with him for years,” Dana White told reporters at UFC 285, when asked if Ngannou might ever return to the UFC. “It’s over, that’s over. He’ll never be in the UFC again. … I never say never, but I’ll give you a never on that one. We tried.”

Following Ngannou’s fight with Tyson Fury this past weekend, however, it seems White is—if not ready to welcome Ngannou back—at least not trying to bury him anymore.

Dana White reacts to Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury

In a recent appearance on Donald Trump Jr.’s Triggered podcast, Dana White took some time to talk about the fight business. Most notably, about Francis Ngannou’s recent boxing debut. Even though he admitted he hadn’t actually seen the fight, White had nothing but good things to say about it as an achievement for the former UFC heavyweight champion.

“The fact that he went 10 rounds with Tyson Fury is crazy,” White said (transcript via MMA Fighting). “He just went 10 rounds with Tyson Fury, Conor [McGregor] made it 9 or 10 with Floyd, Anthony Pettis just beat Roy Jones Jr. – I know Roy is friggin’ 60 years old or whatever, but I don’t know what the hell is going on. It’s crazy.

“I didn’t see the fight, but the fact that he went 10 rounds is unbelievable.”

As to future UFC talents who may want to try their hand in the boxing ring? The UFC CEO didn’t exactly sound hyped by the idea, but also didn’t sound like he was pressed by any need to stop it from happening either.

“Listen, these guys, at some point, everybody is going to move on,” White explained. “Everybody has to do what’s right for them and make money for their families, so whatever they’ve got to do, they’ve got to do.”

UFC re-writes ‘sunset clause’ for fighters

Then again, the reason Dana White doesn’t sound too pressed about the idea of more star fighters trying to make the jump to boxing might be because the UFC has already worked to close up the loophole that allowed Francis Ngannou to make the jump to boxing.

When Ngannou left the UFC, as a title holding champion, it was because the contract he signed had a 5-year ‘sunset clause’. Which meant that if he completed all the bouts on his original contract, and didn’t sign another one, his contract would end 5-years after the date he signed it, no matter whether he was champion or not.

As was revealed recently in the UFC lawsuit, however, newer contracts from the promotion give a lot more leeway for Dana White & Co. to keep talent on lockdown for however long they want. Bloody Elbow’s John Nash explained the changes in a recent podcast episode.

“The first set of changes to the clause was noted when Taila Santos’ contract was made public after it appeared in an unrelated court case. Two alterations were clear:

  • The five year sunset provision would now kick in on the date of the first fight on the contract, rather than the previous iteration where it began the day you singed the contract
  • The contract could be ‘paused’ in cases of suspension (could possibly include medical suspensions)

“On top of those changes, a brand new one is here, and it’s even more restrictive. Basically, what it says is that if you turn down fights and the UFC doesn’t think you have a legitimate enough reason to turn down said fights, they can again pause the five year period. Let’s say it’s the third year of a fighter’s contract and they decide, ‘You know what, I don’t like what I’m being offered, I’m just going to wait out my contract’. Well, the UFC can say that you are refusing to take a legitimate offer, and that five year period will be paused. So it ruins the whole purpose of a sunset clause.”

Francis Ngannou on Dana White

As for whether or not Francis Ngannou is going to see Dana White’s words as a potential change of heart from the UFC boss? Maybe there’s still some room for the two men to find common ground.

Following his fight with Fury, the 37-year-old was asked about White and if he had any words for the promoter now that he’d so obviously shattered expectations. The ‘Predator’ seemed entirely at peace with his past feud with White.

“Who cares?” Ngannou said when asked about Dana White on a recent episode of the MMA Hour. “Dana White feels like Dana White feels. I feel like I feel. Personally I feel great. I think you have to send him an invite so you can ask him. I would like to know, too.”

Report: Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou PPV numbers extremely low

Posted on by Zane Simon in Boxing, Celebrity Boxing, Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou

The big fight last weekend didn’t come from the UFC, but it did come from a former UFC star. Francis Ngannou set the boxing and MMA worlds on fire with a terrific 10-round performance against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. The Xtreme Couture talent may not have won his debut in the ring, but a big knockdown and an ability to stay competitive in every round had noted figures from both the MMA and boxing worlds singing his praises.

For those that feel this may be the start of something big, for the Cameroonian-born Frenchman, there is a note of caution to be sounded.

Dave Meltzer reports Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou PPV sales ‘were terrible’

It never really felt like Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou was going to be a major PPV hit (or that it was ever even meant to be). Aired live from Saudi Arabia, the card took place mid-day on a Saturday, well outside the normal PPV hours. With the event seemingly already paid for by Saudi investment, the necessity of turning a big profit through individual buyers was almost certainly not as big a priority as it would have been for other similar events held in the UK or US. That said, maybe a couple hundred thousand buys would have been a reasonable target?

From the sound of things, Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou didn’t even come close.

“I will have the exact numbers tomorrow, but they were terrible,” longtime pro wrestling & combat sports journalist Dave Meltzer said on a recent Observer Radio segment (h/t Fight Ghost on Twitter). “Way below an AEW PPV. Possibly 10k for TV orders. I will have the streaming tomorrow. It was nothing close to Canelo or Diaz-Paul buys.”

For reference, AEW has had six PPV events in 2023. Of those, three have had publicly disclosed buy-rate estimates, each falling somewhere between 100-150,000 buys. As for the other events mentioned? Canelo vs. Charlo was estimated to be somewhere in the 650-700,000 range, while Diaz vs. Paul came in at an estimated 450,000.

Fury vs. Ngannou aired on ESPN+ in the US and TNT Sports Box Office in the UK, so it should be noted, that (as the largest PPV market out there) the US was pretty much entirely bound to streaming platforms. Not a major surprise that TV sales would be way down for the event.

Anthony Joshua has no interest in fighting Ngannou

Shortly after his moral victory over Tyson Fury, noted UK boxing promoter Eddie Hearn couldn’t have sounded more bullish on the idea of a fight between Francis Ngannou and heavyweight star Anthony Joshua.

“AJ wants to fight in December or January. We have also spoken very briefly to the Ngannou camp to say we’d be willing to look at that fight,” Hearn told talkSPORT after Ngannou/Fury. “I love that fight in Africa, the ‘Rumble in the Jungle 2’ out there would be incredible between two heavyweight giants.”

A few days later, however, and that tune had changed. Perhaps it’s the rumblings about low buy rates, or perhaps it’s just that—as Hearn mentioned in that same talkSPORT interview—Joshua is only interested in regaining a title belt at the moment, but when Hearn spoke to reporters again, it was to say he’d had a conversation with the 34-year-old, and that’s not a fight he’s interested in taking.

“[Ngannou] came to me because he wanted to fight Anthony Joshua. I went to straight to AJ and said, ‘look, it is a bit of a left-field one’,” Hearn revealed. “Don’t forget, Anthony Joshua is not a world champion, didn’t have a shot at the world championship, so I said what do you think? And he said ‘absolutely no interest at all, I want to try become world heavyweight champion again, I’ve got no interest in fighting Francis Ngannou’.”

For the moment, oddsmakers have Deontay Wilder as the favorite to be Ngannou’s next opponent in the ring. After his taxing win over the former UFC champ, Tyson Fury’s planned bout against Oleksandr Usyk had to be pushed back to February, tying him up for the forseeable future. Who knows when fans will get to see the ‘Predator’ inside the ring again, or who he’ll be facing when the day arrives?

Next for Francis Ngannou? Former UFC champ reveals future plans

Posted on by Zane Simon in Boxing, Celebrity Boxing, MMA News, Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou

Francis Ngannou walked out of his boxing debut against Tyson Fury with his head held high and a world of opportunity seemingly laid out at his feet. Sure, he didn’t beat Fury on the judges scorecards, but in the minds many fans and pundits, he won the day.

In the few days since that bout, all the talk has been about what might possibly be next for the ‘Predator’. When will he fight again? Against who? In what sport?

Francis Ngannou’s manager teases next fight

At the moment, it seems almost inconceivable that Francis Ngannou’s next fight would take place in the PFL or in the sport of MMA. He potentially just lobbed a bomb into the middle of the heavyweight boxing top contender scene, it’d be madness not to try and follow that path.

While his manager, Marquel Martin wasn’t willing to rule out a ‘hybrid’ bout or PFL debut, the shortlist of next opponents he had for Ngannou certainly seemed to lean heavy toward boxing rather than MMA.

“I think we see him again Q1 of [next] year. Whether that’s with his partners in PFL or a hybrid [fight] of some sort,” Martin said in a recent interview on the MMA Hour (transcript via MMA Fighting). “I think all options are on the table, and it’s really going to be exciting of: who wants to really fight him now? It’s not so much Francis chasing anymore, which is a good situation to be in.”

When prompted about Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder, and Anthony Joshua, Martin confrimed that was essentially the shortlist.

“Those are some of the options that we’ve been discussing for a long time,” Martin revealed. “I think what kind of emerged as of late was Anthony Joshua, right? We’ve had the conversations with Deontay. And obviously Tyson’s there, but now Joshua can be a potential suitor. Obviously, Eddie Hearn, I have a ton of respect for him as a promoter and he does a great job. He thinks that Anthony Joshua can can make light work of Francis. Actually, the team, we were hoping before the Tyson Fury stuff ever came up—came to be about—we’re hoping that we got a chance to fight Anthony Joshua.”

Martin went on to describe the various pros and cons for each bout. To his own personal preference, though, it seems like he wants to see Francis Ngannou take on Deontay Wilder in the PFL.

“I would love to see Deontay come into MMA and test his hand in a mixed rules [fight], right?” Martin explained. “And then that would set up that kind of narrative, just so the world can see the difference between the two. That’s why I like to show it from a standpoint of, like, I don’t think MMA fighters get enough credit for what they do in the world of combat sports. So I’d love to see that, right? And then knowing that Tyson has his fight with Usyk, afterward there’s going to be an opportunity to do the rematch.”

Francis Ngannou has his own ideas

As part of Martin’s conversation with Ariel Hewlani, he suggested that Francis Ngannou’s mind was 90% made up as to his next opponent. If that’s the case, then fans have no further to look than Ngannou’s recent TMZ interview to find out what’s on his mind. Along with revealing that he had no plans to appeal his loss to Fury, Ngannou made it clear that if there’s any one fight on his mind right now, it’s getting a rematch done ASAP.

“The rematch,” Ngannou said flatly when asked what his perfect next fight would be. “The rematch is what I want next the most. Because, as for right now I feel like there is a lot of options for me, but I want to choose wisely—and I would go for the rematch first.

“Going into the first one, there was a lot of questions, a lot of uncertainty for boxing… Even going into the training camp there was a lot of unknown. But I think this fight—from the beginning of the camp up, leading up to the fight—I think that was a lot of experience that will definitely help me a lot for the second fight.”

“Listen, my best scenario in boxing is to wait for Fury,” Ngannou responded when asked if he would try to take on the winner of Fury vs. Usyk.

If Fury won’t be ready, Ngannou looking at MMA return

Surprisingly, while Francis Ngannou also revealed that he plans on fighting twice next year, with the first fight coming in February or March, he also sounded bullish on the idea that one of his bouts in 2024 would come inside the PFL cage. To hear the 37-year-old tell it, if Fury isn’t ready to go (which he won’t be given his plans to fight Usyk in February), then Ngannou plans on jumping back into MMA.

“If it doesn’t work,” Ngannou added, speaking of the timing of a Fury bout, “then I can still fight February or March in MMA, then expect him by the end of the year—like, this time, by October.”

Could just be that that Deontay Wilder MMA idea his manager was so hyped for is a very real plan B at the moment.

As for the potential of getting his first Fury fight result overturned? Despite the controversy surrounding the bout, Ngannou sounds like he hasn’t even been considering the idea.

“Who am I gonna appeal to? [The British Boxing Commission]?” Ngannou said when asked about trying to get the result of his fight overturned. “I have no chance. I think that’s just another way of humiliation.”

Francis Ngannou & Tyson Fury react to shocking fight

Posted on by Zane Simon in Boxing, Celebrity Boxing, MMA News, Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou

The combat sports world is still reeling. Francis Ngannou didn’t win against Tyson Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but he shocked a whole heck of a lot of people with 10 strong rounds of boxing against one of the best heavyweights of the last 20 years.

The general feeling in the air, as a result, is that while the 37-year-old didn’t get his hand raised, he was just about the only one who walked out of the arena on October 28th that had the aura of victory around him. Tyson Fury has to push back his planned Usyk fight, the UFC looked petty and short sighted, and the PFL has to reckon with a star performer whose price tag almost certainly shot up.

Francis Ngannou resolute after Fury loss

After the bout was over, Francis Ngannou took a moment to speak to fans at the arena about his performance and where it might lead him. It’s clear that even with the split decision going against him, the Xtreme Couture talent was flying high, and couldn’t wait to jump back in the ring for another boxing bout.

“I feel great, I feel fantastic, I’m very happy” Ngannou said after his bout with Fury (transcript from MMA Fighting). “It didn’t go my way. I want to thank … the kingdom of Saudi Arabia for giving me this opportunity to prove people wrong one more time again.

“I’m just a fighter and I’m ready to fight any time soon. We can run it back again and I’m sure I’m going to get better. This was my first boxing match. Great experience. I’m not giving any excuse. I know I came up short but I’m going to go back and work harder. With a little more experience next time, a little more feeling of the game, and come back even stronger. Because, at first, I was a little nervous. This new sport that I never did, that I don’t really feel it, now I know I can do this s***. Now, baby, get ready. A wolf is in the house. I’m going to bite some s***.”

Tyson Fury stunned by Francis Ngannou’s ability

As aforementioned, if Francis Ngannou feels like he won, it feels a lot more like Tyson Fury lost. Speaking to fans after his bout as well, Fury sounded notably stunned by the competition he’d just played a part in.

“That definitely wasn’t in the script,” Fury said post-fight. “Francis is a hell of a fighter. Strong, big puncher, and a lot better boxer than we all thought he would ever be. Listen, he’s a very awkward man and he’s a good puncher, and I respect him a lot. Before the fight and afterward.”

“He was very awkward. He wasn’t coming forward. He was standing back waiting for me to land my punches and then try to counter. He’s a good fighter. He’s given me probably one of my toughest fights in the last 10 years.”

Even before talking things over with his manager, it already started to sound like plans for his bout against Usyk were disintegrating before our very eyes. The first thing on Fury’s mind wasn’t a new bout in December, but getting a little time to rest up and recuperate.

“I’ve been out of the ring a lot time again, 11 months in between my last fights,” Fury said. “You can see it in here. Ring rust and everything. No excuses. Francis is a good fighter and he caught me with some good punches. Fair play to him. He cut me across the eye there. I don’t know what that was, a left hook or head butt or something, I’m not sure. But it was a rough fight. Perfect.”

Fury vs. Usyk delayed

Fury vs. Usyk had been seemingly all signed, set and delivered for December 23rd in Riyadh, likely at the same venue where Fury took on Ngannou on October 28th. After the bout was over, however, Fury’s manager made it clear that while the bout hasn’t been cancelled, it has very definitely been delayed.

“It will go ahead but it will not be on the 23rd,” said Warren in a recent interview. “It was crazy for some people to suggest that it could still go ahead on the 23rd. He is 35-years-old and has just done a 12-week training camp and has just been in a tough fight. He needs a break with his family, he needs to switch off and we will announce the date when we are ready. But the fight is signed. The fight will happen. It will happen early in the new year, late January or February. That will be up to Tyson, it is his body.

“Fury said in the ring that he would fight on the 23rd—and he would do it—but he needs protecting from himself and that’s my job.”

Chael Sonnen disgusted by Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou

Posted on by Zane Simon in Boxing, Celebrity Boxing, Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou

This past Saturday played witness to a monumental moment in the MMA world. Former UFC champion Francis Ngannou finally got his day in the sun; a boxing match against heavyweight title holder Tyson Fury. A lifelong dream for the Cameroonian-born Frenchman, his bout was expected to be little more than a one-sided tune-up for Fury on his way to a bout with Oleksandr Usyk. Instead, fans were treated to a highly competitive split decision, where the ‘Predator’s striking prowess was on full display.

In fact, the fight was so close that many observers felt that Ngannou should have gotten the nod. The 37-year-old was competitive in every round with Fury, and scored the bout’s biggest moment of offensive prowess, a clean knockdown in the third round. With a little more time to think, more and more people seem to feel Ngannou was a victim of highway robbery.

Chael Sonnen rails against Tyson Fury scorecards

Unsurprisingly, one such voice belongs to former multiple-time UFC title contender Chael Sonnen. The ‘American Gangster’ has never been shy of an opinion when controversy is brewing. Shortly after Fury got the nod in Riyadh, Sonnen took to social media to voice his displeasure.

“Boxing is not a real sport,” Chael Sonnen said in a recent YouTube video (transcript via MMA Junkie). “That hurts me. That hurts me to say, but there’s no way to deny that.”

“A man’s body of work deserves to be recognized, and it deserves to be recognized accurately,” he continued. “That is disgusting, what they just did to him. Anybody would’ve been wise to predict that that was going to happen. There was no chance that boxing was going to allow him to come in and get that win if it went to a decision.”

Daniel Cormier glows about Francis Ngannou

Once Chael Sonnen’s ESPN talk show partner, UFC commentator Daniel Cormier had his own take on the fight. Cormier didn’t get into the weeds of how the bout should have been scored, however, instead keeping his focus to the remarkable achievement Francis Ngannou put forth, just by being so competitive against one of the best boxers in the world today.

“Francis Ngannou proved that he is the baddest man on the planet,” Cormier said in a recent video uploaded to his own YouTube (transcript via BJPenn.com). “Why? Because he was the heavyweight champion of the UFC, and he fought the lineal heavyweight champion of the world to a split decision.

“Tyson Fury could not fight Francis Ngannou in mixed martial arts in the way that Francis fought Tyson in boxing. There’s no way a fight between any boxer and the UFC heavyweight champion in mixed martial arts goes to that type of decision. It was the most impressive performance I’ve ever seen for a guy outside of the realm of expertise. Make no mistake.”

End of the day, whether Chael Sonnen wants to get wrapped up in the scoring controversy, or DC wants to make sure that Ngannou gets his metaphorical flowers, the narrative is the same. Francis Ngannou shocked the boxing and the MMA world in Saudi Arabia. The only question left to ask is: What’s next? Can the PFL find a fight to match the Xtreme Couture athlete’s newly invigorated star status? Or is it all boxing from here on out?

Against Fury, Francis Ngannou proved that UFC just held him back

Posted on by Zane Simon in Boxing, Boxing Editorial, MMA Editorial, Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou, UFC Editorial

Let’s be honest here, what Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou looked to be heading into Saturday’s PPV boxing event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was the start of a prolonged, glorified ride into the sunset for the former UFC heavyweight champ. The best, and most realistic expectations had him getting throughouly out-classed and likely even stopped over the course of several rounds against the ‘Gypsy King’.

From there, Francis Ngannou would go back to the PFL, proud of what he’d accomplished, but as a former UFC star running on the fumes of past glory. Who were they going to find to fight him? Ante Delija, Denis Goltsov, Ryan Bader? Maybe he’d help the promotion cross the 100k PPV buy threshold a few times before retiring as a guy who had made a lot of money betting on himself as a big fight B-side, and an MMA star that a UFC rival desperately needed.

Francis Ngannou: Combat sports star

Instead, while he didn’t get the win, Francis Ngannou walked out of his fight with Tyson Fury with the feeling of a newly-established, legitimate combat sports star. An attraction who isn’t just good for the top of an MMA card or as second billing to one of the big-money boxers out there, but as someone who can command his own price, set his own terms. Is Deontay Wilder a bigger name in combat sports right now? Is Anthony Joshua?

Google trends comparing Francis Ngannou, Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua.

Suddenly, where Francis Ngannou might have been someone those men felt they could use as a negotiating tool for other fights, or as an exhibition tuneup where they’d have the leverage, now the ‘Predator’ looks more like a legit competitor. Either someone that everyone can make a killing off of with a heavily hyped PPV or someone that can truly add to their own legacy as a big tough fight fans want to see.

It might be that Ngannou never actually ever wins a professional boxing match. But what felt like it was likely to be a high profile one-off that would chase him back to MMA suddenly has the look and feel of 3-5 professional fights in which Ngannou makes bank the whole way through. He has, very likely, in a single night, re-written the arc of his legacy as a fighter.

At this moment, I’d say that Francis Ngannou has put on the single greatest performance by an MMA fighter to ever cross into boxing. He’s broken a mold 30 years in the making, one which flatly states that MMA fighters cannot cross-over and face elite prime boxers and hold their own. To date, the only thing really close was Conor McGregor lasting 10 rounds with a 40-year-old Floyd Mayweather before getting TKOd.

Tyson Fury on the floor after getting knocked down by UFC star Francis Ngannou.
Screengrab

The UFC takes an L

Beyond the remarkable nature of Francis Ngannou’s achievement and the effect it will likely have on his career, however, are the implications his achievement will have on the MMA industry. Most notably, the potential deletirous effect this could have on both the UFC and the PFL.

On the first front, the UFC has to come away here as a very obvious loser. Prior to his split from the world’s largest MMA promotion, Ngannou made it clear on several occasions that he wanted to make this fight with Dana White and the UFC brand as business partners. He felt the fight would sell better and feel bigger with the promotion on board, and he might have been right. McGregor vs. Mayweather was a enourmous success.

Instead, the UFC decided to try and make an example out of their heavyweight champion. More willing to try and wait out his intentions to see whether he would get cold feet with the potential of true free agency looming. Francis Ngannou didn’t, and got summarily kicked to the curb for daring not to bend.

Even getting the Fury fight (and the massive PFL contract) after leaving the UFC put the notion out into the ether that there may be greener pastures outside the promotion waiting for those fighter gutsy enough to make the leap. This success in Saudi Arabia, though, seems like it could supercharge that.

Sean O’Malley wants to box Gervonta Davis, if he’s serious about it, Francis Ngannou just laid a path to success. How many other fighters will look at what he’s done and see the UFC’s hesitancy to help them as a lack of belief in their potential. White’s short sightedness would have kept Ngannou from this new height forever. Do these athletes want to admit to themselves that they lack the Xtreme Couture talent’s self belief?

No picnic for the PFL

For the PFL, however, the problem feels much less theoretical and much more pressing…

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Alistair Overeem predicts shocking end for Ngannou vs. Fury

Posted on by Zane Simon in Boxing, Celebrity Boxing, MMA News, Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou

Heading into his massive PPV boxing match this Saturday in Saudi Arabia, it’s safe to say the deck is stacked firmly against former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. The few books offering odds on the fight currently have Tyson Fury sitting as a favorite anywhere from -1400 to -2000.

If anything, pros in the industry are even more down on the possibility that Ngannou can score an upset for the ages. “Zero,” Terrance Crawford told the assembled media when asked what chance he’d give Ngannou of beating Fury. Upcoming Fury opponent Oleksandr Usyk echoed those sentiments in a recent interview of his own.

“Promotion? Top-notch. Actual fight quality? Well, I’ve seen better sparring sessions in local gyms,” Usyk proclaimed, adding that Ngannou had serious accomplishments in MMA. “But UFC isn’t boxing. And Fury, well, he isn’t quite the boxer he used to be.”

Alistair Overeem picking Francis Ngannou via KO

At least one pro fighter is backing ‘The Predator’ to get the victory, however. None other than former UFC title contender and one-time Ngannou opponent Alistair Overeem. The ‘Reem’ met the Cameroonian-born Frenchman back in 2017, on the way to Ngannou’s first bid for heavyweight gold. That fight ended just 1 minute and 42 seconds into the first round, when Ngannou detonated the Dutchman with an uppercut that would become the center point of his highlight reel for years to come.

It’s that kind of power that seems to have made an impact on Overeem’s thinking for the Xtreme Couture talent’s upcoming bout with Tyson Fury.

“Not only a chance — I believe he’s going to win,” Alistair Overeem said in a recent interview on the MMA Hour, noting that he believes it will be a “brutal force KO,” for Ngannou (transcript via MMA Fighting).

“Because I look at fights a little bit different, right? Of course, I’ve been in the game for 30 years. But I look at patterns, I look at some little details, I look at it a little different. And I think Ngannou is going to surprise the world, shock the world. Listen, also because people underestimate UFC fighters. They do. MMA fighters, let’s call them MMA fighters. There’s a lot of details that are in here and boxers are basically one-dimensional to us. Yes, Tyson is the best, yes, yes, yes, but France is a big dude. Very big dude.”

Tyson Fury believes he’d beat Ngannou in MMA too

Putting aside all this boxing nonsense, the next evolution of what ifs in the upcoming war between Francis Ngannou and Tyson Fury has to be, ‘what if they fought in MMA instead?’ Leave it to Fury, however, to have an answer for that. The unbeaten heavyweight champion boxer is so confident in his skill advantage over his upcoming opponent that he feels he’d be a shoo-in for victory even in a set of 4oz gloves.

“He’s not a good wrestler; he’s known for striking, and I’m a better striker than him. In little gloves, I’d knock him out in seconds,” Fury claimed in a September press conference for his upcoming PPV battle. “I’d fight Jon Jones also in the cage, if the money was right.”

The money will almost certainly never be right enough for Tyson Fury to ever fight Jon Jones inside the UFC Octagon, but it’s a line that UFC president Dana White has been happy to jump on, telling the 35-year-old that the UFC was ready and waiting for him with a lucrative offer.

“I will make Jon Jones vs. Tyson Fury in the Octagon,” Dana White told reporters back in June. “And we’ll figure it out. We figured out how to pay Floyd (Mayweather), we’ll figure out how to pay you too, Tyson.”

Is Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury really for real?

Posted on by Zane Simon in Boxing, Celebrity Boxing, Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou

When Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou was first put together it seemed only obvious that the fight was going to be nothing more than an exhibition. After all, former UFC heavyweight champion though he may be, Francis Ngannou has never fought as a professional boxer before. And here he is, taking on Tyson Fury, still in his prime as perhaps the best heavyweight boxer of his era.

Things all changed, however, back in July, when the WBC revealed that Fury vs. Ngannou would be considered an officially sanctioned bout. Fury’s WBC title would not be on the line, but a new belt was being formed just for the event: The WBC Commemorative Riyadh title.

“This isn’t for the WBC title, but … they’ve commissioned a belt, which is the Riyadh championship belt,” promoter Frank Warren said. “Hopefully this will be something that will be fought for every year, but this is a special special event.”

Doubts raised over Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou sanctioning

Despite the news of the WBC’s involvement, there are major doubts still ongoing about the actual status of the fight. Grey from BoxRec.com, official US & UK boxing record keeper, recently noted that no one has reached out to the site to take responsibility for sanctioning the bout, or to provide official details on the card.

Recent high profile boxing bouts in Saudi Arabia have used the Dubai commission to provide oversight. In this case, however, reports are that the British Boxing Board of Control will be licensing Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou. Only they don’t seem to have notified BoxRec.com about it.

Without a sanctioning body willing to provide details on the fight, it’s left the status of the bout in limbo for a lot of sports books. Right now only a few bookies are offering odds on the contest. Veteran boxing reporter Dan Rafael gave a little more insight into the situation on Twitter as well.

Shades of Vitor Belfort vs. Evander Holyfield

This isn’t the first time that fight fans have seen this kind of confusion in a notable MMA/Boxing crossover fight. Just recently Triller put on an exhibition bout between former UFC champion Vitor Belfort and boxing legend Evander Holyfield. Only, for long stretches of the lead-up to the event, all parties were insisting that the fight had been set up to be a full-rules boxing contest.

“We’ve spoken to Holyfield and Vitor and the commission; no matter what, this will be scored as a pro fight, there will be a clear winner and it will be treated with pro rules,” Triller co-founder Ryan Kavanaugh said ahead of the card.

What fans ended up with was eight 2-minute rounds of exhibition boxing. Or at least they would have if Holyfield hadn’t been so thoroughly shot that he couldn’t make it out of the first round.

Chances are, when the bell rings for the start of round 1 on October 28th in Saudi Arabia, Francis Ngannou and Tyson Fury will step into the ring looking to throw real punches with real fight ending potential. But, there’s also a very real possibility, given the lack of clarity we’re seeing so far, that the bout won’t end up on either man’s record.