Francis Ngannou was expected to put up a fight. In his professional boxing debut just five months earlier, Ngannou sent Tyson Fury — an established fighter — to the canvas in the third round.
Ngannou, a former UFC mixed martial arts (MMA) heavyweight champion, more than held his own over 10 rounds. It was only a controversial split decision in Fury’s favour that ruined a memorable night for Ngannou.
The impressive performance earned Ngannou a bout against Anthony Joshua, another fighter of high pedigree. Joshua, a two-time world champion, is on a comeback trail, having suffered back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk.
A few questions and a statement
At 34, questions were asked of Joshua’s drive and passion. Ngannou, on the other hand, was hungry to make a big statement in his new chosen field.
When the duo squared off a week ago at Riyadh, it was Joshua who sent a message loud and clear. The Briton dismantled Ngannou, delivering a destructive second-round knockout. Joshua floored Ngannou in the first round with a straight right, establishing his dominance early.
The next round signalled an early end to the night, when Ngannou walked into a monstrous blow. The frightening big right hand of Joshua put Ngannou to sleep. It took a few moments and medical attention for Ngannou to get to his feet.
The unexpected one-sided victory exposed Ngannou’s weaknesses in full. The French-Cameroonian looked utterly out of place in the ring, providing no resistance to Joshua’s advances. Joshua took all the time in the world to take aim and load up punches, and despite the tells, Ngannou failed to take evasive action.
This has led some experts to believe that this type of crossover fight can be dangerous, even fatal. Ngannou must stick to his primary occupation — mixed martial arts — they argue. He does not belong in the boxing arena, as all it takes is one clean blow for things to go horribly wrong.
Ngannou will turn his attention back to MMA, where he will make his PFL SmartCage debut. As it stands now, this is his best route.
A dignified Joshua refrained from celebrating after the knockout.
Joshua even had a few words of encouragement for his opponent. “When I saw the fight with Tyson Fury, I thought, ‘I want some of that’. Ngannou is a great champion and this doesn’t take anything away from his capabilities. I told him not to leave boxing. He’s two fights in and he’s fought the best,” Joshua said.
Ngannou admitted that Joshua was the better man, adding that he did not feel the knockout punch.
“[Joshua] was quite special because he stopped me. He did what Tyson Fury couldn’t. It wasn’t my day, and he was just way better than me. It sucks, but it’s the game. I didn’t feel the punch. I think that’s what a knockout is about. I don’t feel any pain,” Ngannou said.
The heavyweight picture
Fury, incidentally, was ringside at Riyadh. Fury dismissed claims that Joshua was now the world’s top heavyweight fighter. “Usyk will have something to say about that, considering he beat Joshua twice. Usyk and I have an undisputed world championship fight coming up, and Joshua had a show fight. For actual real boxing, Usyk and I will fight for the number one and two positions,” Fury told DAZN Boxing.
“I had a bad performance against Ngannou. This is no secret. Joshua was fantastic. He lit Ngannou up with a perfect right hand. That’s what a boxer should do. But if Joshua fights me after I have defeated Usyk, that will be a different game,” Fury added.
If all the stars align, Joshua could next take on the winner of Fury-Usyk. Fury and Usyk will meet on May 18 in Saudi Arabia for all the belts, and will face each other in a rematch later in the year. The long-awaited Joshua-Fury fight would electrify the world of heavyweight boxing, but for this to happen, Fury must first get past the supremely proficient Usyk.
Even with Ngannou’s novice status in the boxing world, there was no doubting the authenticity of this professional bout.
This is in contrast to another fight that was announced a few days earlier. At 58, former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson will enter the ring to take on social-media-influencer-turned-boxer Jake Paul in a live Netflix special.
Tyson last fought in 2020, in an exhibition match against another former world champion, Roy Jones Jr.
Paul rose to stardom around a decade ago, posting prank videos on his YouTube channel. In 2020, he made his professional boxing debut, and has since won nine and lost one fight. His wins have come against a former NBA basketball player in Nate Robinson, and retired MMA stars including Ben Askren, Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva.
This is hardly a serious resume, though it must be said that Paul rakes in huge revenue through these fights.
A circus act?
It is not clear yet if Tyson-Paul will count as an exhibition or a professional fight. Either way, the news has not gone down well with boxing purists, who claim that this resembles a circus act which degrades the rich history of the sport.
“My sights are set on becoming a world champion, and now I have a chance to prove myself against the greatest heavyweight champion ever, the baddest man on the planet and the most dangerous boxer of all time. This will be the fight of a lifetime,” Paul said.
Tyson hyped the fight by stating that he will “finish” Paul.
“He’s grown significantly as a boxer over the years, so it will be a lot of fun to see what the will and ambition of a kid can do with the experience and aptitude of a GOAT. It’s a full circle moment that will be beyond thrilling to watch; I started him on his boxing journey on the undercard of my fight with Roy Jones and now I plan to finish him,” Tyson said.
The fight, scheduled to be held on July 20 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington (Texas), is unlikely to witness serious action. Tyson and Paul, however, are likely to laugh all the way to the bank.
