Tyson Fury’s last fight against Derek Chisora has some similarities with his upcoming meeting with Francis Ngannou, in that the announcement of neither was particularly well received and few are / were expecting a particular competitive bout.
Fury’s promoter Bob Arum has been comparing the test posed by Ngannou to some of Fury’s recent opponents, and made some bold claims.
In a recent interview with Pro Boxing Fans, Arum stated the Ngannou is a harder puncher than both Chisora and penultimate Fury opponent Dillian Whyte.
“Absolutely this is a more dangerous fight! Ngannou hits harder than either Chisora or Dillian Whyte, and when you’re in with a puncher like that, and you’re not in perfect shape, that’s when you can get knock out.
Ngannou is a tremendous puncher, probably the best puncher in the history of the UFC. This is going to be a really interesting fight. It’s going to be very fun to watch.”
Ngannou has a reputation has one of the biggest punchers in the history of MMA, however it remains to be seen whether this will translate to the sport of boxing.
Even if it does, being able to land it on as skilled a pugilist as Fury is another matter entirely, with ‘The Gypsy King’ considered leagues ahead of Ngannou in almost every other department.
The crossover clash has received a mixed reception at best from boxing fans, who are growing frustrated with Fury’s either inability or unwillingness to agree terms for an undisputed heavyweight world title fight with Oleksandr Usyk.
However, the event at Riyadh in Saudi Arabia on October 28th is still expected to draw huge numbers.