By: Sean Crose
It was supposed to be an easy fight, a figurative walk in the park, so to speak. Tyson Fury, considered one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time in some circles after three powerful performances against American sledgehammer Deontay Wilder, would undoubtedly crush former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou before a live crowd in Saudi Arabia and an audience of millions of people. After all, Ngannou had never fought professionally. And besides, didn’t the most famous mixed martial artists become virtual punching bags when they faced top boxers in the ring? They said it would be easy.
But Francis Ngannou, as the world quickly discovered, was something different. For starters, he approached boxing as a boxer, not as a famous mixed martial artist to demonstrate what real fighting is all about. What’s more, unlike most of Fury’s recent opponents, Ngannou appeared to be stronger than Fury. So much for intimidating an opponent in the ring, Tyson. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Ngannou proved that mixed martial arts artists, or at least some, could punch with top-level boxers. While Fury ended up leaving the ring with a split decision victory that night, it was Ngannou who scored a knockdown in the third round.
And now Ngannou returns to the sweet science for his second fight as a professional boxer against former WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. Give this to Ngannou, he’s not looking for cheap cross payouts. The truth is that Joshua will enter the ring as the favorite when the two men fight at a pay-per-view event in March – and, frankly, that’s how it should be. The impact that a virtual boxing rookie can have with some of the best fighters in the world will have disappeared by the time of the fight, meaning Ngannou will no longer have the element of surprise on his side. The man, however, will have the power, discipline and natural talent to be incredibly dangerous.
Make no mistake about it, Joshua should be able to beat Ngannou, but at this point no one should be surprised if Ngannou pulls off the upset. “I’m going to do something no one has done,” the underdog Ngannou said at a news conference Monday. Those words would have sounded silly before the Tyson fight. They don’t sound stupid anymore. They may turn out to be fake, but they certainly don’t sound stupid.
