To the surprise of nobody, it has now been made official: Tyson Fury will face Francis Ngannou next. The fight between the reigning WBC heavyweight champ and the former MMA champ has been rumoured for some time now and today Frank Warren confirmed the bout, giving a date, a venue and a rule set.
The fight – and it will be a real fight (it may not be competitive, but it will be a real fight) – will take place in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia on October 28th and it will take place under the official rules of pro boxing. What the press release does not tell us is the number of rounds the fight will be set for, or whether or not Fury’s WBC belt will be on the line (it seems it will not be, as Ngannou is of course currently unranked).
The press release reads as follows:
“The fight will take place in a regulation boxing ring under the standard boxing rules. With three judges ringside adopting the 10-point must system. Both fighters, however, are promising to meet in the middle of the ring, go to war and win by knockout in devastating fashion.”
So, those other rumours that were recently swirling around, suggesting the fight would be a mere exhibition, carrying with it a no knockdown rule, are apparently false. We will get a real fight. Sort of. Many fans, call them more knowledgeable fans if you wish, still see this one as a colossal mismatch between an accomplished boxer and a man who, though proven in mixed martial arts, has zero boxing experience.
One other thing that is missing in the official press release is the PPV price fans will be expected to fork out to watch the event.
Promoter Frank Warren, who told us prior to today’s official announcement that Fury’s next fight would be a “game-changer,” has put out a tweet hyping the Fury-Ngannou fight by asking “Who is the baddest man on the planet?”
Whoever wins on October 28, that title will still belong to a fellow named Mike Tyson, but that’s another story.
The Fury-Ngannou fight is entertainment and nothing much more. But it could be worse, and we were braced for worse with that rumoured no knockdown rule. At least here, Ngannou will be able to go for the KO, as able or as unable as he will be to detonate a bomb on Fury’s elusive chin.
It will be interesting to see how many numbers this fight does, and how big a live gate it generates.
Will YOU be tuning in in October? On another note, come October, Fury will not have boxed a real fight for over ten months. Will he remain as WBC champion by the end of the year, yes or no?