It has been billed as the most anticipated fight of the month involving two powerhouses, Tyson Fury, who has held the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title since 2020 and Francis Ngannou, the previous Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Heavyweight Champion.
What started as an online feud has finally become a showdown of different combat sports.
The origins of this fight date back over a year ago when Ngannou entered the boxing ring and faced off with Fury following the latter’s knockout victory over Dillian Whyte at Wembley.
The world watched as these two formidable fighters exchanged fiery exchanges and intense stares.
The epic crossover bout which has been termed “Battle of the Baddesst”, happening in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night is one of bragging rights, pride and possible egos.
The baddest men on the planet 🌍
Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou face-off 🔥#BattleOfTheBaddest | #FuryNgannou | Saturday, 6PM | Live on TNT Sports Box Office pic.twitter.com/U5TRdRbIVm
— Boxing on TNT Sports (@boxingontnt) October 26, 2023
Fury comes into this fight off the back of a 10th-round TKO victory against Derek Chisora in December of last year.
On the other hand, Ngannou who will be making his boxing debut has not fought since earlier this year, where he defeated Ciryl Gane via decision at UFC 270.
Despite this weekend’s showdown, the WBC belt will not be on the line as Gypsy King has a signed heavyweight title fight against Oleksandr Usyk also to be held in Saudi Arabia.
The fight is scheduled for 10 three-minute rounds, with a victor being decided on points or via knockout/TKO.
Were Fury to lose to Ngannou on Saturday night, the defeat will not count on his professional record.
‘Knock Him Out Inside Six Rounds’
In recent days, Fury has been vocal about his chances in the upcoming fight claiming he will put to rest any doubts about his opponent
“I’m gonna knock him out inside six rounds. And shall I tell you how I’m going to do it?
“I’m ready to knock a motherf***er out!” 💥@Tyson_Fury is a master on the mic, and a master in the ring 😅🎤🥊#BattleOfTheBaddest | #FuryNgannou | Saturday, 6PM | Live on TNT Sports Box Office pic.twitter.com/Plkz4FwLSy
— Boxing on TNT Sports (@boxingontnt) October 25, 2023
‘Get on the front foot, high arm, sticking him with a punishing jab, 19, 20 stone in the face, boom, boom, boom, bust him up, swell his eyes out, and then feint, slip, bang! K.O.”
‘On the front foot, not running away. On the front foot, hand-eye, let him hit the shoulder, slip, slip, bang, slip, slip, bang. Down in a heap,” he said in a faceoff interview with Ngannou on TNT Sports Boxing podcast.
👑 𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐀𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓 👑#FuryNgannou is coming to @ESPNPlus PPV on Oct. 28 at 2PM ET 📺 pic.twitter.com/r91703tJKa
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) October 10, 2023
‘Everybody Has A Plan Until They Get Punched In The Face’
When asked if he had the confidence to beat Tyson Fury, the 37- year 0ld Cameroonian gave the affirmative, “yes”.
“In the past, I have always been the underdog and I have always prevailed when people didn’t expect me to, and I want to thank him for everything he has done to assemble everything to come grab and go,” he said.
“My point is to go out there and prove that I am a boxer and by boxing against the best in the world and beating him.
Reacting to Fury’s plan to knock him out in the sixth round, Ngannou replied ‘Wow. That sounds like the script for a movie,’ ‘As you said earlier, everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face.’
‘He Has What It Takes To Knock Out Anything Or Anybody’
Photo of Mike Tyson, Francis Nagannou and a sparring partner during a training session
Similarly, the former undisputed world heavyweight champion from 1987 to 1990, Mike Tyson, who is currently training Ngannou believes he stands a chance against the Gypsy King.
“I am helping Ngannou. I am learning what he is able to do. He’s able to do so much more than I anticipated,” Tyson said in an interview with Dailymail.
“We will know the answer to the Battle of the Baddest tomorrow.” #riyadhseason @francis_ngannou @Tyson_Fury @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/MedcBQbYdu
— Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) October 27, 2023
‘He has what it takes to knock out anything or anybody standing in his way. Once he lands a punch on Tyson Fury’s jaw he is going to knock him out too. Nobody can survive that.’
Despite his high level of optimism for Ngannou’s punching prowess, Iron Mike was full of respect for Fury recognising him as one of the greats.
‘Fury’s not the all-time great but he’s one of the all-time greats. He’s really high up. He can do greatness right now.”
‘He’s always going to bring a good night of boxing, fight hard. You’ve got to try and hit him with a shot to knock him cold out because he always gets back up and fights hard.’” he said.
What Each Fighter Is Expected To Earn
According to Fury in an interview with The Mirror, the 6ft 4 inches mixed martial artist will be earning $ 10 million in their bout
Meanwhile, the Englishman is expected to quintuple that in purse earnings to a sum of $ 50 million
“Everyone said he was an idiot for walking away from the UFC and now all of a sudden he’s a genius, isn’t he?” Fury said while sharing his delight at getting to fight Ngannou next month. “Guy’s about to make $10 million. Come on! Egg in their face! Francis is going to make that bag. Rich,” Fury said.
These earnings exclude sponsorship deals and agreements.
