Fury himself ruined the fight with Ngannou. The fight was definitely not staged, and the Cameroonian is a symbol of determination and character

On the night from Saturday to Sunday, from October 28 to 29, ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou almost created the biggest sensation in the boxing world in the last ten years. The Cameroonian not only went the full distance of the fight with the current WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, knocking the Briton down, but also lost by a split decision, which caused a lot of controversy.

The fight itself, which took place in Riyadh, answered several questions and formulated a couple of new ones, the solution to which we will find out very soon.

The fight was not a planned show

To be honest, I had such thoughts before the fight. There were too many factors that made the Fury-Ngannou fight look like a wrestling match. Large fees for boxers, venue, surroundings, a fight on short notice, a fight between Fury and Usyk planned in less than 2 months, Ngannou’s lack of experience in such boxing matches and immediately a fight with the world champion.

But the fight itself forced us to completely reject these speculations. Firstly, Fury’s knockdown was natural and not feigned: Tyson fell from the side to the temple, he turned on the bicycle in the time remaining before the end of the round, so as not to receive an early defeat. And the panic in his corner after the third round looked natural.

Secondly, Tyson boxed dirty: he threw elbows, tried to hit the back of the head, and often clinch. Such techniques are not used in staged battles.

Thirdly, Fury was putting his reputation and the reputation of all boxing on the line, no matter how pretentious it may sound. To clown around in front of hundreds of millions of television viewers, world sports stars and prominent boxers, as well as those who sponsor and organize your next fight, investing hundreds of millions of dollars in it, is such a decision.

The fact that Fury didn’t care about the fight is only his problem and fault. The fact that he tried to correct the situation, but could not, is an obvious fact.

Fury took Ngannou too lightly

British boxer promoter Frank Warren said Fury had been preparing for the fight with Ngannou for 12 weeks. It is difficult to say what the Gypsy King was doing, but he was not ready for the fight. It seemed that he underestimated Ngannou’s power and skills and overestimated his own abilities.

Fury was superior to Ngannou in speed, but not so much that it became a serious advantage. Tyson worked better than Francis on his feet, but not enough to completely avoid the blows and land all his own. The Gypsy King tried to use his favorite clinch tactics, but the Cameroonian’s physical attributes negated his attempts to wear down his opponent. Fury “breathed” better than Ngannou, but a knockdown in the third round, fear of strong blows from his opponent and some missed number of punches did not allow him to gain an advantage. Another weapon of the Gypsy King – mind games – also did not work with Ngannou.

If the first four points are Fury’s fault, then the last one is Ngannou’s merit.

Ngannou is a symbol of determination and discipline

When discussing the course of the fight, its outcome and consequences, many talk only about Fury, about the reasons that we described above. But few give credit to Ngannou for his tenacity, discipline and self-belief. In vain. Let’s not throw around epithets and comparisons, I position Francis as one of the most gifted fighters. Let’s simply repeat the obvious and well-known facts and record his determination.

• Ngannou began working in a sand quarry at the age of 10.
• Francis made his first attempts at boxing at the age of 22 (!). But he quit due to hepatitis.
• At the age of 26, he illegally made his way to Europe to continue his martial arts training there, but spent several months in prison.
• At first, in Paris, he lived on the street, then in the MMA gym of Fernano Lopez.
• Ngannou had his first known professional fight at the age of 27 (!). In the second, he lost, after which he went on a streak of 10 victorious fights in a row. Ngannou entered the UFC at the age of 29 (!).
• He got his first title shot in the UFC at age 31. He became the champion of the organization at 34.
• At the age of 37, Ngannou decided to enter the ring according to boxing rules against the current world heavyweight champion, who has no defeats in his professional career and is considered one of the best boxers regardless of weight categories.
• At the age of 37, in his first professional fight under the rules of boxing, Ngannou knocks down the world champion and loses by a split and, for many, controversial decision.

“This fight was about dedication and determination, hope and destiny. This fight was supposed to prove all the doubters wrong,” Ngannou said after the fight. And this is probably the best characteristic of Ngannou the athlete and Ngannou the fighter who fought on October 28 against Fury.

What’s next for Fury and Ngannou

With Ngannou, everything seems simple. Francis received a good check of several million dollars (in his fights in the UFC he did not even reach a million), earned respect and returned the attention of martial arts fans. Ngannou has a contract with the PFL league, where they are ready to close his performances according to boxing rules (the UFC categorically disagreed with this) and arrange fights for him whenever he wants. Apparently, there are options for holding several big boxing matches – the latter’s promoter Eddie Hearn said about the desire to arrange a fight between Ngannou and Joshua.

It is unlikely that Ngannou, at 37 years old, will radically improve his technique, timing, endurance and sense of distance specifically for boxing, but it is quite possible to give an interesting performance for a good fee. Francis is unlikely to agree to trade for strong middle men – like Parker, Wallin, etc., but fights with Joshua or even Wilder look interesting.

As for Fury, one gets the impression that he himself realized that in such a form or with such an attitude there was nothing for him and Usyk to catch in December. Hence his statements about the need to move the date of the fight, and the words of his promoter Frank Warren about a cut that was not visible visually and the need for restoration.

Fury, having decided that the fight with Ngannou would be a show and an easy walk for him, was mistaken, significantly ruining the reputation of both boxing in general and his own in particular. It is possible to avoid a fight with Usik (we’ll talk about this later), although “throwing away” the sheikhs would be fraught on all sides, but a defeat in a fight with a Ukrainian would actually deprive Fury of his legacy. And this moment seems to matter to him, despite all the statements about the priority of the money issue. How Tyson will get out of this situation, I think, will become clear within the next week. Let’s stock up on popcorn.