A date and venue for the polarising crossover bout between Tyson Fury and former UFC heavyweight world champion Francis Ngannou have been announced and the fight is on.
The pair’s names have been linked ever since Ngannou took to the ring and faced off with Fury in April last year, following ‘The Gypsy King’s stoppage victory over Dillian Whyte.
Those rumours turned into something a lot more concrete over the past week, when esteemed combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani revealed talks for Fury vs Ngannou were at an advanced stage and an announcement was expected soon.
And fans received confirmation this afternoon, when Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, announced that the clash will take place on October 28th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A press release states that the fight will take place under the official rules of professional boxing and unlike had been rumoured, the fight will not be an exhibition.
“The fight will be under the official rules of professional boxing, with 3 judges ringside adopting the 10-point must system.
Both fighters however are promising to meet in the middle of the ring, go to war and win by knockout in devastating fashion.
It will be in a regulation boxing ring under the standard boxing rules.”
Who is the baddest man on the planet?#FuryNgannou set for a blockbuster clash on October 28th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia pic.twitter.com/7G6lr5UjZE
— Frank Warren (@FrankWarren) July 11, 2023
Public reception to a fight between Fury and Ngannou has been mixed at best, with very few observers of the opinion that Ngannou has the tools to be remotely competitive against the WBC world champion.
Despite being known for his striking in MMA and undoubtedly carrying fight ending power, ‘The Nightmare’ has never had a professional boxing fight and does not appear to have the technique or speed to trouble Fury.
After his one sided beatdown of a faded Derek Chisora in December, Fury fans could be forgiven for expecting his next outing to be a more competitive one than Ngannou.
An undisputed showdown with Oleksandr Usyk is the fight that has been widely demanded of Fury and had been earmarked to also land in Saudi over the next few months, though concerns are growing that the historic unification may never happen.