Debate continues to rage about whether UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou could cut it in a fight with WBC ruler Tyson Fury.
The cross-codes super-fight is taking up column inches in the boxing press, but realistically, most in the know see it as highly one-sided.
Both men stand to make a tidy sum if the fight somehow manages to make it to Pay Per View. However, unless Fury carries the Nigerian for a few rounds, the spectacle would see a loss of immense proportions.
Ngannou fares well in the MMA world, and fair play to him for that, but we know he’s just not a top-level pugilist no matter how you dress it up.
You could say he’s got a puncher’s chance, and that’s all good and well to make people buy it. This sport is a business, after all. But the fight isn’t close in terms of skill, and Fury would school Ngannou and break him down in the boxing ring.
HEAVYWEIGHT
Hall of Fame promoter Lou DiBella stated that any genuine heavyweight in the top thirty contenders would defeat Ngannou given a chance.
Responding to a comment by Fightposium that, “Ngannou would make a great payday in boxing but will also get put to sleep by any top five boxing heavyweight,” DiBella aired his views.
“Top five? – Try any non-fraudulent pro heavyweight in the top thirty.
“I love Ngannou. Francis is a great mixed martial artist. He isn’t even a good amateur-level heavyweight boxer,” added the long-term promoter.
You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone involved in the sport with an ounce of sense disagreeing with that notion as Fury keeps mentioning a battle, obviously for the payday.
PROBLEM
But like Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor in 2017, there’s no competition in the fight. It’s simply a money-making exercise to see just how many gullible people would buy the event.
Sadly, that’s where boxing is at the moment. It’s no longer about ability. It’s gone down the road of how well you can sell.
The days when top contenders face each other regularly simply for the glory are long gone. It’s a place boxing needs to find its way out of quickly to save its integrity moving forward.
Fury vs. Ngannou as an exhibition match off-PPV, yes. Charging $75 or more for the privilege, no thanks.
The views expressed in this article are opinions of Phil Jay.
Phil Jay – Editor of World Boxing News since 2010 with over one billion views. Follow WBN on Twitter @WorldBoxingNews.
