Saturday night in Riyadh was meant to be a walkover for Tyson Fury, the WBC heavyweight champion among those predicting he would make light work of Francis Ngannou.
Fury likened it to a table tennis champion taking on Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon Final.
To his immense credit, Ngannou came close to pulling off one of boxing’s biggest upsets. Some argued he had been robbed of a split decision but he had the good humour in the immediate aftermath to post a picture from the third round where he floored Fury with the words: “Table tennis champion of the world”.
By Monday, an injustice had kicked in despite his $10million (£8.2m) payday.
“Even though I get robbed by those judges, I really believe that I won that fight,” he said. “I should have done better but still I won that fight. I keep my eyes on him. Hopefully, we get a rematch. This time things will definitely be different.”
After avoiding a potentially career-flattening banana skin in the ring, Fury might be forgiven for shying away from a repeat.
But promoter Frank Warren was already talking up the prospect of the two men fighting once Fury’s heavyweight title reunification bout against Oleksandr Usyk is out of the way.
In the wake of a flurry of YouTubers fighting for big numbers, Fury-Ngannou seemed beforehand little more than a money making machine.
Andy Murray, a keen boxing fan, was among those to weigh in on the debate about where the sport is heading. “How many points would the world No1 squash player win vs the world No1 tennis player in a tennis match and vice-versa? I’m thinking close to zero for both… bad look for boxing.”
Despite just one professional boxing fight to his name at the age of 37, Ngannou looks certain to stay in the sport, even if it might mean doubling up with his MMA ambitions.
Already promoters of the big fighters are lining up to be his next challenger. Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn said: “I have to speak to the boss but I like AJ-Ngannou. For me, light work.”
And Shelly Finkel, speaking on behalf of Deontay Wilder, said: “Deontay is interested in fighting Francis Ngannou. But his first choice is still Anthony Joshua.”
Does Ngannou actually pose a real threat to the heavyweight division or was Saturday an anomaly, Fury too complacent and unprepared for a fight he assumed would be a walkover?
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman hailed him as a “solid boxer who deserves to be ranked by the WBC and I will make such recommendations to the ratings committee”.
As for Warren, who before the fight predicted Ngannou being knocked out by Fury, he is already sniffing around the Cameroon-born fighter to help with his promotion.
“He has come of this a huge star, a hero,” said Warren. “He is now in a position to be in massive fights and I will have a meeting with him and his people about working together. The rematch could end up being as big as the Usyk fight.
“I’ll offer him a top-level fight. He is solid, an athlete. He’ll get into the top 10 after that and based on that performance, I’ll give him a shot against anyone in the top 10 and I think he’d beat at least five of them right now.”
Ngannou has the sort of back story boxing loves. He worked in a quarry from the age of 10 and spent time in jail in Paris before finding work as a bouncer and then entering the world of MMA.
He would like a return to MMA – and is probably contractually obliged to do so under his deal with Professional Fighters League – but plans to do that alongside his boxing in 2024.
He clearly has the power — judging by the third round hit to Fury’s temple — but understandably lacks the all-round skills. While he threw more punches than his opponent — 231 to 223, he landed only 59 to Fury’s 71.
Having come within a whisker of a monstrous shock, one suspects he will have his choice of suitors next.
