Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou are widely considered the best heavyweights in their respective combat sports - but how do they stack up ahead of their fight later this year?
Talks of a fight between the pair have been floating around for years, but they came a reality last year when Ngannou got in the ring with Fury after his knockout win against Dillian Whyte. They had a light-hearted back and forth and suggested a “hybrid-rules” fight, but nothing came of it as Fury went on to fight Derek Chisora later that year.
After Fury’s undisputed heavyweight title clash against Oleksandr Usyk was delayed again, his promoter Frank Warren teased a fight against a “game-changing” opponent. Fans were convinced the hint was about former UFC champion Ngannou and they were right as the clash has now been agreed for October 28 in Saudi Arabia.
Here is how the two rivals compare...
Tyson Fury
Fury will hold a big height advantage over Ngannou in the fight, standing five inches taller than the Cameroonian at 6’9”. The Brit would likely be heavier than the former UFC champion having weighed around the 270lb mark for his latest fights, but Ngannou could easily come in around the same weight after he was unable to weigh any heavier than the UFC heavyweight limit of 265lb. With a reach of 85”, Fury would also have a two-inch advantage over his rival in that department.
‘The Gypsy King’ is yet to be beaten in the ring with many fans considering him as the greatest heavyweight of the modern era. Fury was over 20 fights into his professional career when he captured his first major title, capturing the British heavyweight belt by stopping Derek Chisora in their rematch. His breakout performance came exactly a year later as Fury ended the decade-long unbeaten run of unified world titleholder Wladimir Klitschko.
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Fury’s decline began when he failed a drug test for cocaine before his rematch with Klitschko. This began a string of issues for Fury that included mental health battles and huge weight gain as he soared up to the 400lb mark. Fury vacated his unified world titles and took almost three years away from the ring, returning in 2018 to beat Sefer Seferi and Francesco Pianeta. Fury then looked to become a two-time heavyweight champion as he challenged unbeaten knockout artist Deontay Wilder.
The pair fought to a controversial draw in a fight that many fans felt Fury should have won, but it didn’t matter as just over a year later Fury brutally stopped Wilder in their rematch. The duo fought for a third time 18-months later in a largely unwanted trilogy, but it proved to be one of je best heavyweight title fights of the past decade as Fury again won by knockout. ‘The Gypsy King’ has since defended his heavyweight title against Dillian Whyte and familiar foe Chisora.
Francis Ngannou
Ngannou is rarely at a size disadvantage in his fights, in fact, the only time he did give up height on an opponent is when he fought Anthony Hamilton in 2016. It didn’t matter anyway as ‘The Predator’ almost tore Hamilton’s shoulder into two pieces as he tapped out his opponent in less than two minutes. Ngannou stands at 6’4” with a reach of 83”, two areas that Fury would both have an advantage against him in.
The Cameroonian burst onto the scene in 2015 as a relatively unknown heavyweight who couldn’t speak much English. Ngannou became a fan favourite because of his inspirational life story, immigrating from Cameroon to Paris and eventually finding his way out of homelessness through combat sports. Sporting a ripped physique and knockout power, Ngannou proved to be one to watch in the heavyweight division after winning four fights in the space of a year.
Ngannou’s win against Hamilton set him up with a fight against Andrei Arlovski in 2017, but the former champion proved to be no match for ‘The Predator’ as he blitzed through him in 90-seconds. MMA legend Alistair Overeem would later suffer the same fate as he was also knocked out by Ngannou in minutes. The string of knockout wins earned Ngannou a title shot against then-champion Stipe Miocic, but he was dominated for 25-minutes and then put on a dismal display against Derrick Lewis later that year.
UFC boss Dana White then had a public fall-out with Ngannou, who then relocated from France to America after his consecutive defeats. It was a smart move as Ngannou won three of his next four fights in under a minute to set up a title fight rematch with Miocic. Ngannou completed his fairytale ending by knocking out Miocic to win the heavyweight title, becoming just the third African-born champion in UFC history.
Ngannou tried his best to renegotiate a new UFC deal after winning the belt, but he couldn’t come to terms with the organisation. He opted to fight out of his contract by defending his belt against former teammate Ciryl Gane last January, although he only became a free agent at the end of last year. Securing a big-money payday in boxing was a big part of Ngannou’s decision to leave the UFC, something that rival MMA promotion PFL has allowed him after signing with them in May.
