Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou takes on Tyson Fury in an exhibition boxing bout dubbed “The Battle of the Baddest” in Saudi Arabia this weekend.
Fury is the reigning WBC heavyweight king and has never lost over the course of a 15-year professional career.
As such, the chances of an effective boxing novice having any chance of springing an upset — even when we consider Ngannou’s much-vaunted punching power in the mixed-martial arts arena — feels beyond remote.
But what is Ngannou’s boxing history? Has he fought before and what sort of experience is he bringing to the ring against The Gypsy King?
Is Francis Ngannou a boxer?
The short and accurate answer is no, at least until Saturday night when he technically becomes one. Sort of.
But the 37-year-old Cameroonian started off on the path to becoming one of the most fearsome strikers in UFC history due to a love of the sweet science.
"My first dream was to be a boxer. Since a long time ago, I dreamed about that. [For] more than 20 years, I dreamed about boxing,” he told UFC Unfiltered in 2017.
I was 22 years old when I started [boxing training] in Cameroon. I was very excited. I was doing [another] job to get paid, to have somewhere to live. At 22 years old, you say you’re going to be a boxer — people said it was a foolish dream.”
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Francis Ngannou UFC record, titles won
Ngannou boasts an MMA record of 17 victories and three defeats, with 12 of his wins coming by way of knockout. All of his losses have been via decision.
The last of his four submission victories came in the first round against Anthony Hamilton in December 2016.
Ngannou’s first tilt at the UFC heavyweight title ended in a defeat over five rounds to Stipe Miococ in January 2018. He then lost another decision in his next fight versus Derrick Lewis.
He rebounded with a 45-second stoppage of Curtis Blaydes, the first of five consecutive KOs, to set up a rematch with Miocic, whom he stopped two rounds to become UFC heavyweight champion in March 2021.
Ciryl Gane was Ngannou’s maiden challenger and he won his first and only five-round decision before moving away from the UFC.
Is Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou an official bout?
It remains unclear whether Fury vs. Ngannou will be an official professional bout. The fight will take place in a separate ring to the undercard, which is topped by the British heavyweight title fight between Fabio Wardley and David Adeleye and sanctioned by the British Board of Control.
However, none of the bouts are listed on Boxrec, which is unusual on the eve of such a high-profile fight card.
“For me, I have to look at it in every aspect of not [knowing] what to expect, so this is like an amateur tournament where you’re fighting every day,” said Fury’s trainer Sugar Hill Steward, when discussing the unique proposition of the world heavyweight champion fighting a man who, in boxing terms, is an unknown novice.
"You don’t know who you’re going to fight the next day, different styles. The guy you think you’re going to fight – who may be No.2 and you’re No.1 – he gets put out by some awkward guy and you’ve gotta go in there and fight that guy too.
"So the years of boxing that these boxers have, coming from amateur boxing to professional boxing, and getting put in the ring with one guy for two rounds and another guy for another three rounds here and there, those kind of moments lead up to this moment here where you are prepared for these things.”
Speaking to Seconds Out, Steward added: “You don’t know what your opponent is going to do in the next round until he makes adjustments, he might go in there and do something totally different that you’ve never seen before – something that he doesn’t even know he’s going to do! But whatever is going to get the job done.”
