Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou: A Clash of Titans in Riyadh
Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou: A Clash of Titans in Riyadh
| Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou |
The highly anticipated showdown between Tyson Fury, the WBC and lineal heavyweight champion, and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is set to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The world will be watching as these two giants collide on Saturday, with the action scheduled to kick off at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV. However, it's worth noting that Fury's heavyweight belt won't be up for grabs in this bout.
Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs), a 35-year-old hailing from Manchester, England, comes into this fight with an impressive record. In 2022, he secured a sixth-round TKO victory over Dillian Whyte, followed by another win eight months later when he stopped Derek Chisora in the 10th round. Initially, the boxing world anticipated a showdown between Fury and unified champion Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship. However, talks to finalize that bout came to an end in March.
During a news conference on Thursday, Fury expressed his thoughts on the impending fight, saying, "He's a big, strong guy. Obviously, he's got a good punch. But so am I. I'm a big, strong guy. Otherwise, I wouldn't be the world heavyweight champion. But I believe there's levels to the game. And he's going to find out my level on Saturday night... I have no doubt in my mind that I will knock him out."
As for Ngannou, the 37-year-old fighter from Cameroon made a name for himself in the UFC with notable victories over Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 in March 2021 and Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022. After his UFC journey, Ngannou transitioned to boxing under a contract with the PFL.
Ngannou shared insights into his preparation for this unique bout, stating, "This camp has been different from my past camps. It's a different experience, a different beast. I was aware that there was a mountain in front of me, so that's why we started the camp a lot earlier. And it went well, but having somebody like Mike Tyson around and my coach Dewey Cooper was very helpful in terms of approaching this fight... Tyson Fury is definitely the best in boxing, but that's stopping on Saturday night."
This historic matchup promises to be a battle of titans, with the boxing ring set for 10 intense rounds of action. The world will be eager to see who emerges victorious. Stay tuned for fight recaps, live updates, and round-by-round analysis provided by our experts, Mike Coppinger and Brett Okamoto.
