Fury vs Ngannou

• Heavyweight Bout | 10 Rounds
• Date: Saturday, Oct. 28 | Main Card Time: 22:40 BST
• Location: TBA in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Fury vs Ngannou: Heavyweight titans clash under boxing rules

Fury will put his reputation on the line, though not his title, when he takes on Ngannou. “The Predator”, was UFC world heavyweight champion, before being stripped of his title in an acrimonious departure has never boxed professionally. And he will make his debut against the unbeaten Fury, who has won all of his professional bouts with the exception of a draw against Deontay Wilder.

With the contest taking place under boxing rules Fury is a heavy favourite. If the two were to meet in an MMA match, you would expect Ngannou to comfortably beat Fury 100% of the time. So, naturally in a boxing match Fury would be the victor 99.9% of the time. The reason Ngannou has that .1% chance is his punching power. He is the record holder of the World’s Strongest Punch as well as being  UFC heavyweight champion before leaving the franchise and that small chance of him landing a knockout blow makes the contest interesting, especially for bettors.

Tale of the Tape

Check out the latest odds with the best boxing betting sites.

BoyleSports

(4.5/5)

SpreadEx

(4.4/5)

Unibet

(4.8/5)

BetUK

(4.8/5)

Ngannou: A Puncher’s Chance

After disagreements over fight purses and endorsements during contract negotiations, Francis left the UFC. He’s since signed with the Professional Fighters League (PFL), but before he undergoes the second phase of his MMA legacy he will look to etch his name into heavyweight boxing history, doing what no man has yet to do. Dethrone the “Gypsy King”, or at least make millions trying. 

Alas, all he has is a puncher’s chance, which sums it up. Ngannou punches like a compact car hitting you at 30mph and is a champion-level fighter. He is  training under the tutelage of the great Mike Tyson. He has the necessary understanding of distance and timing to intelligently defend himself in the ring. Couple that with otherworldly strength that can be leveraged well in the clinch. He can make this an ugly fight while he looks to land the crucial blow.

Fury: Tune Up & A Pay Day

Fury, in true Gypsy King fashion, has already guaranteed victory and scheduled his next bout against Oleksandr Usyk just two months later and  it looks like Fury sees this as nothing more than one of the Mayweather-esque exhibition paydays. 

Tactically, Fury can play this just about any way he so chooses. As the taller and longer fighter, one could expect him to dance and pick Ngannou apart from the outside before laying it on in the later rounds. Although Fury is one for spectacle, and like his bout against Wilder, we could see him press forward and put Ngannou on his backfoot. 

Fury’s only concern in this bout is to stay clear of Ngannou’s power shots, but we’d be remiss not to consider Fury has seen power before. Wilder threw the kitchen sink at him over three fights, and Fury got up and saw to the finish in dramatic fashion.

Prediction

Ngannou will come to fight. You can’t train with “Iron Mike” and not show up and plan to show out. But make no mistake, Tyson Fury will win decisively. Francis won’t be able to make up the difference in boxing experience. He’s struggled with his cardio in later rounds in the UFC, and the water gets much deeper in boxing. Expect Tyson to carry him into the later rounds and win decisively.  

At the time of writing, BoyleSports are offering 1/12 on a Fury win, 13/2 on the draw and 16/1 on an Ngannou victory. While we are obviously expecting a Fury win there is little value in this unless you are going to predict the time or method of victory. Some bettors might like the idea of a speculative punt on Ngannou, knowing the likelihood is that they will lose their money, but also knowing that an upset would provide a good return.

BoyleSports

(4.5/5)

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