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Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou predictions:
- Tyson Fury to win by KO - 8/13 with William Hill
- Tyson Fury to win between round 4-6 – 2/1 with Betfred
- Two or more knockdowns - 10/13 with bet365
In the latest of boxing's questionable crossover fights, WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury steps into the ring with former UFC kingpin Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night (TNT Sports Box Office).
The undefeated Fury has a huge unification showdown with Oleksandr Usyk on the horizon and should have few issues going into that bout off the back of the 34th win of his career.
The Brit, who won’t be putting his WBC title up for grabs here, is a heavy favourite with betting sites to defeat Ngannou, who has never previously had a professional boxing match.
The Cameroon-born novice was the UFC heavyweight champion before he left the company at the start of this year and had a reputation as a knockout specialist in the MMA world.
While Ngannou has a puncher’s chance of a stunning victory, the more likely outcome is he finds himself outclassed by one of the smartest and craftiest heavyweights in boxing.
Fists of Fury to flatten Ngannou
We’ve seen plenty of MMA stars try to break into the boxing world and fail and for every Anderson Silva victory over Julio Chavez Jr, there are 10 one-sided defeats for the converts.
The most famous example of a failed transition was Conor McGregor’s showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr in 2017 when Money schooled the UFC ace, eventually recording a 10th round stoppage win.
Saturday’s 10-round contest is likely to end in similar fashion with new sports betting sites making Fury odds-on to stop Ngannou.
The Gypsy King is an elite level fighter whose size, reach and in-ring intelligence make him a formidable opponent.
Ngannou is giving away five inches in height and two inches in reach to the 6ft 9in champion, disadvantages an experienced boxer would find difficult to negate.
As a complete novice, Ngannou is going to find it even harder, and Fury should be able to create plenty of openings to end this fight before the final bell.
There’s little to suggest Ngannou can take this bout the distance with the Predator’s last UFC fight coming in January 2022, while he’s had knee surgery since then.
Fury has 24 wins to his name via KO and TKO, but has stacked up more victories via the latter in his career with 15 TKO successes.
While he has the power to put down Ngannou for the count, it seems more likely the referee will wave this one off whenever Fury decides to step it up.
Fury may delay the inevitable
Fury has received plenty of criticism for taking this fight, rather than warming up for his Usyk bout against a recognised heavyweight challenger.
And he may not want to incite more condemnation by getting Ngannou out of there early on.
Fury will back himself to avoid getting caught with a Ngannou haymaker and may want to toy with his opponent for the entertainment of the 20,000-strong crowd in Riyadh.
Since returning from his three-year hiatus, only one of Fury’s nine bouts have ended inside the first three rounds, with the majority going beyond the midway point of a standard 12-round fight.
This is a 10-round contest, but even that will seem like a lifetime for Ngannou given his recent inactivity.
Fury will likely want to balance not leaving those in attendance short changed and a desire to make an impression, and a mid-fight stoppage seems like a strong option as a result.
Betfred have boosted a Fury win in rounds 4-6 to 2/1 and that is worth consideration.
Ngannou heading for multiples fall
Ngannou’s only chance to win this fight is to try and knockout Fury. That’s easier said than done but Fury has been put on his backside before, most famously in his epic first fight with Wilder.
Over the course of that trilogy with power puncher Wilder, Fury was put down four times.
It would seem unlikely Fury gets dropped by the former UFC champion and that we are more reliant on the Gypsy King’s fist for there to be two or more knock downs in this fight, but Ngannou’s power adds to the intrigue of this bet.
Fury pummeled Dereck Chisora in his last outing and it was a testament to Del Boy’s toughness he didn’t go down in that fight until it’s finish in the 10th round.
One knockdown might be enough to finish this contest but Ngannou has shown his toughness in UFC, where he was never stopped, and it may take multiple trips to the canvas before the bout concludes.
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Last Updated: 14th March 2024, 07:22 AM
