A much talked about clash of the titans in the boxing ring between former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and boxing superstar Tyson Fury is now official and will take place on October 28th in Saudi Arabia.
“This guy is supposed to be the hardest puncher in the world, but let’s see how he reacts when he gets hit by big GK,” Fury said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to showing that the Gypsy King is the greatest fighter of his generation. It’s gonna be a fight for the ages.”
The 34-year-old Fury is clearly confident, and rightly so given his undefeated record in the boxing ring that currently stands at 33-0-1, but nonetheless it seems that his WBC title will not be on the line for this blockbuster fight.
Meanwhile, Ngannou confirmed the fight with a Twitter post that reads, “Never doubt a man with hope and faith. #FuryNgannou | 10.28.2023 | #RiyadhSeason,” alongside a video promoting the fight.
Never doubt a man with hope and faith.#FuryNgannou | 10.28.2023 | #RiyadhSeason pic.twitter.com/44pfCQgGgq
— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) July 11, 2023
The 36-year-old Ngannou vacated the UFC heavyweight title earlier this year after failing to come to terms with the promotion on a new deal, with it being widely known that among his list of demands was the right to be able to take boxing matches outside of the UFC so that he could pursue this fight with Fury.
At the time of his departure Ngannou was on a six-fight winning streak, having defeated the likes of Stipe Miocic, Cain Velasquez, Curtis Blaydes, Junior dos Santos and Jairzinho Rozenstruik before seizing the title with a unanimous decision victory over Curtis Blaydes back in January of 2022.
As Fury alludes to in his statement, Ngannou is known for her ferocious punching power and he also began his combat sports career intending to become a professional boxer before switching to MMA.
That being said, there’s no doubt that technically Ngannou just simply isn’t on Fury’s level and has no prior pro-boxing bouts under his belt, and as such it’s ‘The Gypsy King’ who has rightly already been installed as an overwhelming favorite at -400.
