Cameroon-born professional mixed martial artist Francis Ngannou will make his boxing debut against undefeated WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury as boxing and MMA collide.
The so-called “Battle of the Baddest” will take centre stage on Saturday, October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ngannou, a 37-year-old MMA fighter was a heavyweight UFC champion, but when his contract expired earlier this year, he signed with the upstart Professional Fighters League, which allowed him to compete in boxing where he can pocket more money than in UFC.
The Cameroonian is the former heavyweight UFC champion, while Fury has never lost any of his professional boxing fights to date including multiple world title bouts.
Ngannou, a former UFC heavyweight champion, is renowned for his striking skillset and is even officially listed as the world’s hardest puncher according to the Guinness Book of Records.
Fury, however, has survived the punches of the hardest-hitting heavyweight in modern times, Deontay Wilder, on three occasions.
Read also: Fury beats Whyte to retain world boxing heavyweight title
Speaking to Queensberry Promotions, Fury believes that he has nothing to fear, citing his experiences against Wilder and knowing he can trade with hard-hitting punchers.
“I can stand and trade with anybody. I stood and traded with Wilder. I stood and traded with Wladimir [Klitschko]. I’ll stand and trade with this little bitch.”
“I have beat the actual biggest puncher in boxing and knocked him out. So yeah, until he beats me, he can only ever dream about that record. The biggest puncher in combat sports is me.”
Ngannou, 37, won the UFC heavyweight championship with a victory over Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 in March 2021. He defended the belt against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022. A year later, Ngannou left the UFC and signed with the PFL in a deal that allowed him to box as well.
For Ngannou, it is a chance to enter the world of boxing and the 37-year-old promised fans that he would hold nothing back against Fury on the night.
“I’m very excited and happy,” Ngannou said. “I had a dream as a kid to become a boxer, and now I’m going to box a guy at the peak of his career,” Ngannou said
“For me, usually I would not pay attention to what’s going on around me, but this is so big that I can’t stop thinking about it.
“History is about to be made in Riyadh on October 28. It’s something that I didn’t see coming, although my dream was that someday it would happen.
“It’s not just going to be a fight, we’re opening up Riyadh Season, so it’s a cultural event that we’re fighting in.
“Nobody knows exactly what’s going to happen, but what I do know for sure is that I’m going to be out there hunting for this guy’s head to take it off, I guarantee you that.”
Ngannou could pocket a cool $10 million from the fight irrespective of the outcome.
According to Bloomberg, although the highly anticipated 10-round fight is not a title bout, it is a high-stakes matchup for Ngannou, who just made the switch from the UFC to the Professional Fighters League and stands to make 16 times as much money as in his most recent MMA fight.
The fight is the biggest since Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather faced each other in 2017. McGregor earned $85 million despite losing the fight, according to Forbes.
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