Should Tyson Fury fight Francis Ngannou?

by Jack Lacey-Hatton

The start of a New Year always has boxing fans trying to predict which fights will define the sport over the next twelve months and 2022 is no different.

But who could Britain’s sole World Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury step into the ring with?

WBA, IBF and WBO champ Oleksandr Usyk and the man he beat last year, Anthony Joshua, look tricky deals to broker from the outside.

The Deontay Wilder story has been written, so where else can Fury look for a showdown this year.

One potential option, that has sparked a lot of talk this week, is a dream cross-sport clash with MMA fighter Francis Ngannou.

Ngannou is the reigning UFC heavyweight champion and an in-ring clash between the two would generate eye-watering revenue.

But would he be the right opponent for the Gypsy King at this stage in his career?

Yes

While boxing purists will always be wary of the sport’s stars facing off against mixed martial artists, a meeting between Fury and Ngannou would guarantee one thing – excitement.

Just look at the response to the pairs back-and-forth call-outs in recent weeks. Young combat-sports fans from around the world would clearly love to see this happen.

The sheer size of the two athletes meeting in the ring would make for an amazing spectacle and, as with the Floyd Mayweather-Connor McGregor fight from 2017, would be an opportunity to bring new fans to the sport of boxing.

The Cameroonian is known for being one of the hardest punchers in the world, let alone UFC, and seeing him against the 6 ft 9 heavyweight champion would certainly be intriguing.

As promoter Eddie Hearn recently said about the potential blockbuster, “anything that gets people talking is good news,” and a match between these two certainly get people talking.

The other main benefit of the bout taking place for Fury is that it would be an easy win.

Under boxing rules, although Fury did suggest both could wear lightweight UFC gloves, there is little chance the 33-year-old Mancunian would struggle.

Even BJ Flores, head trainer to YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, warned that it would be very, very difficult for Ngannou to compete.

A simulation, produced by YouTube channel Boxing Fight Simulations, of the contest between the two was recently released and it also had Fury winning after a brutal knock-out blow in the fourth round.

Essentially the Gypsy King would be getting a huge payday, increase his global fanbase and in all likeliness, prevail as the winner.

No

This fight should firmly stay as a fantasy match-up at least for the time being.

Having beaten Deontay Wilder twice, Tyson Fury has once again proven himself to be the best pound-for-pound heavyweight currently on the planet.

This should be his peak year.

Even if, as he has alluded to previously, Fury only has two or three fights left in him, surely they should be spent trying to make himself the undisputed champion?

Usyk currently holds three world titles and although undisputed fights can be extremely difficult to sign off, his team of promoters should be doing everything in their power to get him that chance.

Having got back on top of the boxing world over the last two years, what Fury doesn’t need to be doing is taking part in a glorified piece of theatre, purely for his bank balance.

Retaining credibility for Fury is important right now, particularly at home where some fans have been left extremely disappointed he is still yet to fight Joshua.

If one of the biggest fights in British boxing history continues to be denied, it would be slightly galling to see the unbeaten champion walk out to face a UFC star in Vegas.

Even besides Joshua, Fury still has the mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte to deal with, a fight many will desperate to see in 2022.

Verdict

Tyson Fury shouldn’t be fighting Francis Ngannou, certainly not in the next couple of years.

While still in his boxing prime, the Gypsy King needs to be fighting the best in the business in his own sport.

He can always come back to these fights later on in his career, as Mayweather did with his McGregor match-up.

For now, the only time these two should be jabbing one another is on Twitter.

However, don’t rule it out at some point in the future. Fury has already shown he isn’t afraid to move away from traditional boxing.

In late 2019 he had a short run on WWE, defeating Braun Strowman at the money-spinning ‘Crown Jewel’ pay-per-view.

While a fight with Ngannou would be logistically more challenging, it isn’t completely implausible.

Photo credit: Getty Images