By Jake Tiernan: Tyson Fury’s 10 round fight with Francis Ngannou has a rematch clause involved for their bout next month on October 28 from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Although Fury said last week there isn’t a rematch clause, apparently there is, and it’s understandable. Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) is in his mid-30s, mildly obese, hasn’t fought in almost a year, and hee’ facing a monstrous puncher.
It’s alarming how fat Fury has gotten in the last ten months, and it shows that he’s been eating high on the hog and enjoying his $65 million fortune.
Mentally, Fury has checked out on his career and not looking for risky fights and taking the easy money, avoiding Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua. Fury has become the equivalent of a neutron star, a dying star on its way out.
It doesn’t matter if Ngannou doesn’t have a background in boxing; he still knows how to throw a right hand with enough zip on it to finish what Deotay Wilder started in his last fight with Fury.
For those who saw that fight, they know if Wilder didn’t gas out, Fury would have been a goner. If Ngannou can hurt Fury, he’ll finish him off, and he’ll be thanking his management afterward for including the rematch clause.
Two neutron stars colliding
“Massive event, Tyson Fury against Francis Ngannou. I don’t care what anyone says; this is enormous,” said Gareth A. Davies to iFL TV. “This is a government event. Fury better not lose.
“There’s a lot of people with noisy voices, saying, ‘What’s the point of this?’ The point of it is you’re bringing together two worlds, two different combat sports. Worlds collide, cultures collide, it’s a massive event. It’s been given a huge promotion,” said Gareth.
Ngannou is 37 years old, and Fury is a very old-looking 35, and it’s clear these two guys have already gone through the supernova stage and pretty well finished as stars; hence, Fury is talking of going into the cage next. Once he retires soon, likely in 2024, we’ll likely see him starting a second career in the WWE.
“Yes, we want to see the undisputed title. Of course, we’re going to see it in this era,” Gareth continued. “I do think we’ll see Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury meet next year when and if they both win their next couple of fights, which I think they will.
“I think Fury’s big favorite in this fight, but if he gets clipped by Ngannou, he’s got problems. Yeah, I understand; I can’t confirm absolutely; there’s a rematch clause, which makes sense, but fascinating event.
“It’s a real risk if he doesn’t take it seriously. Anything can happen in a fight. Expect the unexpected,” said Gareth when asked how much this fight is for Fury, taking on the big puncher Ngannou.
Does Fury have remnants of his knockout?
The four vicious knockdowns that Fury suffered against Wilder put him at risk of being knocked out by Ngannou if he gets hit cleanly by him. Fury hasn’t seemed like the same person he once was after the third fight against Deontay.
A lot of boxing fans forget that Fury was out cold in his first fight with Wilder, and if not for the referee Jack Reiss giving him count, he would have been stopped on the spot.
Most referees don’t give a count when they see a fighter lying motionless like Fury, but Reiss gave a count, which looked very weird. If Fury were seriously hurt, there would have been a tremendous backlash against Reis for not stopping it.
“I make him a huge favorite. It wouldn’t surprise me If Ngannou has problems with him and misses gasses, but I’m really looking forward to the whole promotion and the whole involvement. Mike Tyson in Ngannou’s corner,” said Gareth. “Rafael Corderos involved, a brilliant Muay Thai
coach.
“I know people say, ‘What good does that do at boxing?’ hence Mike Tyson. Amazing, amazing to have Mike Tyson involved, absolutely phenomenal. He will give confidence, emotional intelligence, technical intelligence, all those things to Ngannou, who’s got nothing to lose.
“He’s on a win-win, and he’s being paid handsomely. I understand more than he’s ever been paid for his MMA career, and he’s just got to let his hands go. Fury’s got to knock get knocked out, end of,” said Gareth.
