Tyson Fury was in attendance for yesterday’s highly anticipated heavyweight boxing match between Francis Ngannou and Anthony Joshua.
Fury (34-0-1), the reigning WBC heavyweight champion, had of course served as Ngannou’s first professional boxing opponent last October. Despite being an enormous betting underdog, ‘The Predator’ shocked the world by knocking down ‘The Gypsy King’ and taking the fight all the way to the judges’ scorecards. Although he wound up suffering a split decision defeat, the former UFC champion’s stock only rose in the controversial setback.
Given his success against Tyson Fury, many fans expected that Francis Ngannou (17-3 MMA, 0-2 Boxing) would have a good chance of upsetting former WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (28-3) when the pair squared off in last night’s headliner in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Unfortunately for MMA fans, Ngannou’s second professional boxing appearance did not result in another Cinderella story. Instead, Joshua was able to make ‘The Predator’ look like a novice, dropping the former champion on two occasions before eventually putting him out cold with a right hand late in Round 2 (see that here).
It was a devastating knockout loss, one that head many fellow MMA fighters voicing their concerns for the health of the former UFC heavyweight kingpin.
Tyson Fury, who is scheduled to meet Oleksandr Usyk this May for the undisputed heavyweight crown, shared his thoughts on Francis Ngannou’s performance during a post-fight interview with Ariel Helwani:
“There’s a lot of people who have not got the guts to go and chase their own dreams,” Fury said (h/t MMAMania). “And it’s usually people who are not successful who hate on very successful people. So for people who want to criticize Francis Ngannou for getting knocked out try boxing yourself. It’s a tough game.
“I would just say to Francis that he believed in his dream and followed it. He made a sh*t ton of money, which is fantastic to support his family. And he had a great journey. Keep going if he wants to box. He’s still undefeated as a champion in MMA. He can go back into MMA and destroy that world again.”
Do you want to see Francis Ngannou continue in the sport of boxing following last night’s nasty knockout loss to Anthony Joshua?
