Due to Francis Ngannou putting up such a good performance when he met Tyson Fury back in Riyadh in October on his boxing debut, he might have been hoping that the next time he ran into Fury might be a rematch, but that has not proved to be the case just yet.
Three months have passed since Fury and Ngannou faced each other in the ring, but what happened that night will be talked about for many years to come.
The Lineal and WBC champion was expected to blow away the hard-hitting former UFC champion in his boxing debut. That did not transpire, and Fury had his hands full for the whole 10 rounds, not least when finding himself down on the canvas in round three.
He rose, as he always has throughout his career, to rally to a points win and is now in camp for his historic undisputed fight with Oleksandr Usyk, as people continue to debate whether or not that night was a one-off or indicative of a decline in the Brit’s abilities.
Before we find out, Ngannou and Fury have crossed paths at the Joy Awards and shared a cordial handshake. In a clip posted on X, someone captured Fury’s tongue-in-cheek response to seeing Ngannou.
“He’s a big fella isn’t he?”
Ngannou’s next contest is against Anthony Joshua on March 8 and, earlier in the month, he made it quite clear who he wants after when asked if he’s angling for the winner of Fury versus Usyk. The MMA man said he wants his rematch with ‘The Gypsy King’ even if he’s beaten.
Should both men come through with wins, there is a good chance that a rematch could happen.