Not many fans, fighters or pundits gave Francis Ngannou much of a shot when he announced his pro boxing debut would be against undefeated two-time heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
In fact, the general narrative was that Fury could end the bout as and when he pleased.
Eddie Hearn, Devin Haney and Terence Crawford all gave the former UFC champ no hope of springing the upset, with Crawford in particular saying he had ‘zero’ chance.
Ngannou not only made it the ten-round distance and boxed impressively, but he knocked Fury down in the third round. He left the ring as moral victor, but missed out on the official win via a split decision in favour of the Brit.
He has since mocked the three predictions mentioned above.
‘Bud’ Crawford – undisputed at welterweight and widely considered as the best fighter in the world – has now shared his verdict on social media, saying that his prediction was right but giving brief props to Ngannou.
“He lost like I said he was going to. He did good though.”
He lost like I said he was going to. He did good tho.
— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) November 3, 2023
Ngannou now finds himself a man in demand on the heavyweight scene. He has been called out by Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and Derek Chisora just one week on from the fight.
With an MMA contract with the Professional Fighters League already signed, there’s a chance that he may not stick around the squared circle straightaway, but there’s no doubt he’ll be back.
The 37-year-old has made clear that the fight atop his own wish-list is a rematch with Tyson Fury.