Francis Ngannou fought his heart out in one of the biggest crossover fights against the greatest heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury. The bout took place on Saturday, October 28, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and was highly awaited by fans worldwide. The hyped event attracted many A-listers, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Conor McGregor, and WWE’s The Undertaker. The fight did live up to its hype, and it concluded with a controversial split decision victory in Fury’s favor. The scorecard didn’t really impress the combat sports fans worldwide. Many famous people like Andrew Tate’s brother Tristan, the NBA legend LeBron James, and more took to Twitter to express their discontentment with the result.
Nevertheless, Ngannou’s outstanding performance gave him the confidence to respond to Fury’s Novak Djokovic remark on his Instagram account. ‘The Predator’ who was a UFC Heavyweight Champion with no history of boxing, showed exemplary skills against the British. He showed stellar skills and dropped Fury flat on the canvas. But it wasn’t enough for the judges to give a final win nod to Ngannou, and the results went in Fury’s favor.
‘The Gypsy King’, on the other hand, was quite confident about defeating Ngannou and taking home the victory. During the weigh-in, he compared Ngannou’s chances of winning the fight to a “table-tennis champion” playing against the tennis champion Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final. He said,
“[Francis Ngannou] absolutely nothing. It’s like a table tennis champion facing Djokovic in a Wimbledon final. Boxing isn’t about two men brawling; it’s a gentleman’s sport, it’s a sweet science, it’s whoever’s got the most ability to set up a knockout punch.”
However, the 37-year-old Cameroonian-French fighter was at his best against Fury and found himself worthy of a comeback against the British. In his latest Instagram post, Ngannou took a jibe at Fury. He shared a series of images of the British boxer getting knocked out. His post caption read,
“Table Tennis champion of the world”
View this post on Instagram
This was one of the biggest fights for Ngannou, and he did honor this opportunity with an incredible display of his skills. But this is not it. The fight was pretty rewarding for him. It earned him more than what he earned during his entire UFC career.
Francis Ngannou is set to earn much more money than reported earlier
‘The Predator’ was reportedly set to earn a jaw-dropping fight purse of $10 million from his boxing debut against Fury. But the latest reports are suggesting otherwise. According to the sports journalist Dann Stupp, Ngannou will earn a whopping fight purse of $25 million, as confirmed on Twitter. The tweet read,
“Win or lose, Francis Ngannou is probably set up for a $25 million rematch. Bummer he’s not eligible for a $50,00 Performance of the Night bonus, but a solid night nonetheless.”
Win or lose, Francis Ngannou is probably set up for a $25 million rematch.
Bummer he’s not eligible for a $50,00 Performance of the Night bonus, but a solid night nonetheless.
— Dann Stupp (@DannStupp) October 28, 2023
Ngannou’s decision to leave the UFC was not an easy ride for him. Despite many doubting him, he made sure to remain true to his commitment and his goals. The spectacular performance delivered by him is proof of his grit and hard work.
‘The Predator’ has undoubtedly received a lot of support from his fans due to his stellar display of skills. We are hopeful that this fight will surely lead to bigger opportunities for the 37-year-old and open new doors for him in the future.
