Francis Ngannou- the name that has crashed into the world of professional boxing like an asteroid.
Calling the heavyweight fighter’s initiation into the sport of the sweet science as sensational even might be an understatement, and of course, the courtesy to his background in mixed martial arts.
Francis Ngannou’s bombarding entry into professional boxing
Aside from being the UFC heavyweight champion, Ngannou had been one of the most sought after fighters for PFL- the promotion where he is currently signed at, along with the statement from Dana White himself that the Cameroonian having the punching power “equal to getting hit by a Ford Escort”, there was no wonder that his entry into boxing would be superlative.
Right on that notion, Ngannou made his boxing debut against the toughest challenge there was to offer, and that’s none other than Tyson Fury. The reigning WBC heavyweight champion, had emerged as the favourite in their clash of 28th October last year.
While expectations were on Fury to be making a clean sweep, Ngannou’s prowess came into action. Although he wasn’t the winner of the match, Ngannou not only dropped Fury during the fight, went shoulder to shoulder against one of the greatest pugilists of all time, and it was the first time that Fury did not win a decision on all three judges’ cards, i.e, his first split decision victory.
Ngannou’s exceptinal performance against “The Gypsy King” not only earned him much accolades from the boxing fandom, he’s now set to take on the former unified heavyweight world champion in Anthony Joshua- this 8th of March in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The bout brings Ngannou another world champion against him and knowing his performance against Fury, it can be easily expected that Joshua is definitely going to have a tough time handling the 0-1 “newbie” boxer.
Joshua’s last three wins are against Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin, prior to which the Briton had gone 0-2 against Oleksandr Usyk. However, there’s one weapon that Ngannou brings to the ring- his sheer physical strength, that had shown in the fight against Fury and there’s quite a chance that “The Predator” will be making his hunt next weekend and cause a massive upset.
A win over Anthony Joshua- Ngannou’s road to “GOAT” status?
Handling Tyson Fury his first split decision verdict and defeating Anthony Joshua in the immediate next fight within five months- that’s quite a resume for Francis Ngannou, if he’s able to fulfill the second part as well.
However, the heavyweight division of boxing has quite some more names, be it the legends or the up-and-coming. From Deontay Wilder to Daniel Dubois, there are some more names that Ngannou needs to add to his record before he can make a run for the “GOAT” status in heavyweight boxing, but one thing’s for sure, a win over Joshua would make him a serious future contender for the status, if not multiple title shots in the wake.