By Gerardo Granados. Next October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the heavyweight Champion of the World, the “Gypsy King” Tyson Fury, with an undefeated record of 33 wins, no losses, and one draw, will fight against former UFC heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou who has a record of 17 wins, 3 loses by decision at mixed martial arts bouts, but will be making his debut as a professional boxer.
The Gods of War must be pleased to see two lions who are still at their best to fight each other, but they also must wonder if this one will end up as a fight of attrition between two lions trying to punch his opponent into submission.
Back on June 26, 1976, at the Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan, the then reigning undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World, Muhammad Ali, fought against pro wrestler – karate fighter Antonio Inoki. I wonder if this fight got the attention of boxing fans, sports fans, and wrestling and karate fans. Nah, not true; I know it got attention worldwide.
Back in 1976, there was no internet, no social media; you had to wait until the next day to read the newspaper, back when the dollar was still worth its value, chap tickets were at $17.00 and ringside $3,000.00; the bout was telecasted via closed-circuit having around 1.4 billion viewers worldwide, and an estimated 2 million PPV buys. Hey, not bad at all.
In this anecdotic fight, Ali fought Inoki under special fighting rules that did not allow Inoki to use his wrestling-karate fighting techniques. The fight ended in a 15-round draw, with Ali having severe pain in his legs. Also, the crowd was not happy at all at the end of the fight, so loud boos and even riots broke out. The fight fans attending even chanted, demanding to be given their money back.
I am realistic; I know that this is a money-grab fight. If Ngannou had at least two fights before challenging Fury, and also if he had looked good in those, well, this fight would be a lot more interesting and also would validate him fighting against Fury. But still, this is not a circus fight between YouTubers like the ones who have invaded pro boxing in recent years.
I will watch this fight; there is no doubt in my mind if Mike Tyson is involved in training Ngannou, I will want to know the outcome. As for Ngannou, well, I like him and respect him as the hungry lion that he is. Fury is one of a kind. I am one of the very few who gave him a real chance to beat old Dragon Wladimir Klitschko eight years ago. How can I not appreciate Fury after he ended Wladimir´s boredom kingdom that lasted over an eternal decade?
Some believe that this one should be billed as an exhibition fight; others think that it could be a non-title ten-rounder bout. But for sure, we all fight fans can agree that the boxing organizations involvement isn’t needed, as their prestige has washed over the years, and it is not important anymore, and anyone could care less if there is an eye candy belt involved or not on the line for this fight. I bet that the boxing organization that discriminates against Russian boxers will offer one of those dull, useless special paper belts for this bout.
Hey, I will be honest, the last Fury title defense was a joke. Derek Chisora had three losses and only one win in his last four, before he got the chance to challenge the heavyweight champion, so to have Ngannou fighting against Fury in a non-title bout sounds fair play to me.
This bout resembles the money-grab trick fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. versus Connor McGregor, but with a big difference because now we are talking about heavyweights, big heavyweights.
Also, Francis has shown great punching power at the UFC. So, I don’t think that it would be smart of Fury to try to carry Ngannou to the last round as Mayweather Jr did with McGregor.
This boxing match could as well end up as a real treat, and by that, I mean a dog fight between two mammoth-sized fighters. Of Course, it would be absurd to believe that Ngannou would be able to outbox Fury. How could he outsmart Fury, who has an elite-level ring IQ? He can’t do it, period.
But the one thing that Ngannou can do is to go out there and to try to make it a dog fight, and there is no better way to do it against Fury than using the Peekaboo boxing technique. Yes, I know, it is hard to believe that Francis will be able to master the style in such a short time. Nonetheless, he can try. After all, Ngannou is in a win-win situation; no pressure on him at all. On the other hand, Fury is not only obliged to win, he also has to look good doing it.
Fury not only has the skills advantage, he also has the size, height, and reach advantage. But, Ngannou isn´t small at all, is hungry, and does have the physical tools to compete.
It is possible that we will get tricked again. Perhaps we will get a great treat next Halloween eve, but one thing is certain, next October 28, we will see a lot of those soft pseudo-boxing fans disguised as wearing real fight fan costumes. And for sure, all those MMA fight fans who to this day believe that Connor McGregor did good against Floyd Mayweather Jr. will also buy this PPV.
I must ask the reader, do you believe that we will get tricked into buying yet another expensive pay-per-view and end up disappointed hating pro boxing, or will we receive a nice treat next October 28?