With the highly anticipated Crawford vs. Spence Jr. fight now officially in the rearview mirror, fight fans have begun looking ahead to the fall slate of bouts.
While there are some entertaining contests between Anthony Joshua and Dillan Whyte in London, and an Alvarez vs. Charlo bout in September still to come, the most intriguing showdown will take place on October 28th in Saudi Arabia.
There, the often teased crossover bout between former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou and WBC Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will finally take place. While it’s a bit much to expect Ngannou, who has never boxed professionally, to put on a dazzling in ring display, his knockout power is very real, making it a dangerous fight on numerous levels for the “Gypsy King”.
Initial details indicate that the fight will take place in a regulation boxing ring under boxing rules, including three ringside judges using the 10-point must system.
In essence, the bout will be the heavyweight version of McGregor vs. Mayweather. And if that’s the case, both fighters and promoters alike will be laughing their way to the bank when all is said and done.
Back in August of 2017, the two squared off at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas at a weight of 154lbs. The super-fight generated 4.3M domestic PPV buys, bringing in over $600M in total revenue. Even if Fury vs. Ngannou did only half those figures, everybody walks away from the bout significantly richer than when they started.
But where most viewers knew the outcome of Money vs. The Notorious one heading into the fight, there’s a genuine puncher’s chance that Ngannou could shock the world this fall. Whereas the lighter weight classes rely more on a steady barrage of punches to wear down their opponents, both these heavyweights could end the bout with a single blow if it lands flush.
That sentiment was shared by Olympic silver medallist Frazer Clarke who recently laid out the framework for a potential Ngannou upset. “We all know he can punch and if you are fit and you can punch in heavyweight boxing, you have as good a chance as anyone because if you land that shot, it can be goodnight. There has been lots of talk about levels in the sport and what level he is at having never done it professionally. But he probably has more of a shot than a non-puncher at British level.”
Never one to shy away from the theatrics, Fury responded in kind “This guy is supposed to be the hardest puncher in the world, but let’s see how he reacts when he gets hit by big GK…I’m looking forward to showing that the ‘Gypsy King’ is the greatest fighter of his generation. It’s gonna be a fight for the ages.”
While few can honestly say they’d turn down the kind of money on the table for Fury, to further their legacy, that doesn’t mean there aren’t nay sayers when it comes to the bout. One such detractor is promoter Eddie Hearn, who believes the heavyweight champion should be more focused on vanquishing challengers than lining his pockets.
Regardless of the outcome, the mere fact that the fight came together at all can largely be viewed as a win for professional fighters. After years of back and forth between Ngannou’s camp and the UFC, the two sides finally walked away from the negotiating table making “The Predator” ostensibly a free agent.
The Cameroonian born fighter wasted little time in signing a multi-fight deal with PFL, with the caveat that his contract would come into effect after his boxing debut with Fury. With Ngannou set to turn 37 this September, the former UFC champion knew that his window to maximize his earnings was quickly coming to a close.
In setting up the mega-fight with Fury, Ngannou hopes to not only secure generational wealth for his family, but also to prove that there are more options available to combat sport athletes beyond just the UFC.
The outspoken social media influencer turned boxer Jake Paul hailed Ngannou as a pioneer for his efforts to break free of his UFC obligations and forge his own path.
“I’m happy for him, and I think he’s creating history by showing UFC fighters they can make so much more money by being in control of their own destiny,” Paul told MMA Junkie. “Which is also what Nate Diaz is doing. This should be Nate Diaz’s biggest payday, and that’s for certain going to be Francis’ biggest payday. Hopefully more fighters follow suit, leave the UFC, come to the better league, which is PFL, and also be able to box.”
“They’re MMA fighters, but they can also box. So I think more fighters will follow in his footsteps, and that’s what we’re doing with the PFL, and growing it is giving fighters another place to go instead of it just being a monopoly that the UFC has truly created. Francis is the pioneer of that currently, and this fight is amazing. It’s exciting, and it’s fun.”
While fight purists will grumble that these bouts amount to nothing more than a sideshow, the fact of the matter is that crossover events such as this have created a renewed interest in boxing. Especially at the younger age demographics.
According to a recent analysis of ratings, gate sales and PPV buys, boxing was the 5th most watched sport in the world in 2018. Moreover, that same analysis found that participation in the sport had grown by 14.1% at UK boxing clubs between 2014 and 2019. As of 2020, there was a 12.3% year over year growth rate in boxing channels on YouTube, showing that for all of the debauchery that can take place on some of the less reputable circuits, more eyes are tuning into the sport than ever before.
That being said, one can stop short of heaping too much praise on the likes of McGregor, Ngannou, KSI, or the Paul brothers, as there are other factors at play which have led to a revival of boxing. However to ignore the effect of their involvement altogether is missing the point.
The hardcore boxing fan will always be well versed in the rising stars, and “must watch” bouts on the undercard of events. But to the casual fan, they may be more familiar with fighters from other walks of life than they are with the next wunderkind who’s been toiling away in a dimly lit gym for the past decade and has “paid their dues”.
As it stands, Fury is currently a -400 favourite heading into his showdown with Ngannou. That gives him an implied 80% chance of victory. And while that will likely be the eventual outcome, more than a few eyeballs will be tuning in this fall to see if that puncher’s chance comes to fruition for the former UFC champion.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: Nikita Solovyov. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.