Saudi Arabia has stumped up a ridiculous amount of money so that we can find out who the baddest man on the planet is – Tyson Fury, the heavyweight world champion from Morecambe who once dressed up as Batman at a press conference, or Francis Ngannou, a really nice fella from Cameroon who has never actually boxed before.
With only days to go before the big lads scrap it out in Riyadh, here are five reasons why I think Fury is the baddest man since ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson.
October 28th, 10pm: Tyson Fury v Francis Ngannou
TV: TNT Sports Box Office
Ngannou Was Late To The Game
Ngannou hasn’t had it easy – the future UFC champ grew up in poverty in Cameroon and went to work in a sand quarry as a ten-year-old to make ends meet for the family. But as a young man with a dream to become a professional boxer like his hero Mike Tyson he knew he had to leave, so he illegally trekked his way across Africa and Southern Europe to reach France.
Big Franics was taken in by an MMA gym in Paris and in 2013, aged 27, he made his debut. In 2015, Tyson Fury turned 27 and won the heavyweight world title beating long reigning title holder Wladimir Klitschko. Ngannou can work as hard as he likes but he’ll never have those childhood years of training where the movements and tactics become second nature.
Fury Will Get The Read Of Ngannou Quickly
Inside the cage Ngannou has a fearsome reputation for being a knockout puncher, and although he is dangerous with either hand he tends to keep loading up the big right hook to do the damage.
In MMA, with compact four ounce gloves, it can be quite difficult to block a punch even if you know it’s coming, but Fury is going to see Ngannou’s wide looping shots coming from a mile off and have his nice big 10 ounce mitts ready to catch them.
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Ngannou’s Will Run Out Of Gas
The Cameroonian heavyweight is more an explosive athlete than an endurance one, and he’s never knocked out an opponent after round 2 – which, to be fair, is because most of the time he’s already won by KO before then, but he’s also lost on points three times.
Ngannou can blow his gasket so quickly that he has actually taken rests in the first round, and that’s against UFC fighters who don’t throw half the volume of punches Fury throws. Ngannou has a puncher’s chance for a couple of rounds but it won’t be long before he’s gassing.
Fury’s Reach Will Be A Weapon
Experienced fighters have faced all shapes and sizes, but Ngannou has never competed against a top-level opponent that’s taller than him. Fury already has all the advantages in boxing skill, but he’ll also be able to use his size to land shots from outside the range of the MMA man.
It’s A World Champion vs A Novice
Ngannou is less than a professional boxing novice, he’s basically got a Willy Wonka golden ticket to experience a boxing camp for the very first time. I know he’s a professional fighter, and a good one, but even Conor McGregor had trained properly in boxing and won some regional youth titles – and the Irishman got beaten up by the much smaller Floyd Mayweather.
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