Tyson Fury has been warned he could be “put to sleep” by Francis Ngannou in what would be a “catastrophic” result for the heavyweight champion.
The Brit has angered the boxing public by opting to face lineal UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou in October as opposed to pursuing an undisputed title fight with Oleksandr Usyk. A key criticism is that the MMA star has never had a boxing fight, meaning there is little jeopardy to the contest.
However, top heavyweight Frazer Clarke fears there is a chance Ngannou, a renowned knockout artist in the octagon, could pull a win out of the bag if he lands a big shot. It would be essentially the only chance for the MMA fighter, who won’t win Fury’s heavyweight title if he does win due to being an unranked opponent.
“Fury is such a big fighter and big personality, he has got the governing bodies wrapped up around his little finger,” Clarke wrote in his Metro column this week. “He does what he wants and that is the reality of it. He is going to earn a lot of money and have a lot of eyes on him from all walks of life. But boxing fans see straight through it.
“Having said that, I wish him all the best and for God’s sake, don’t let Ngannou land a shot on your chin and put you to sleep because that would be catastrophic. We all know he can punch and if you are fit and you can punch in heavyweight boxing, you have as good a chance as anyone because if you land that shot, it can be good night.
“There has been lots of talk about levels in the sport and what level he it at having never done it professionally. But he probably has more of a shot than a non-puncher at British level.”
A similar point was made in favour of Conor McGregor’s chances when he took on Floyd Mayweather in 2017 as part of a crossover event. However, they were considerably lighter fighters, with the 50-0 boxing legend also never having taken much serious damage in his career, much less suffering any legitimate knockdowns.
Meanwhile, Fury has been down plenty as a professional, including five times to Deontay Wilder over their three fights between 2018 and 2021. Ngannou would need to land one of his massive shots in order to hurt Fury, and likely has minimal chance of winning over a ten-round decision.