- What: Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou
- When: Saturday, October 28th
- Where: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
The fight the entire combat sports world is waiting for. On Saturday, October 28th, Tyson Fury will face former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in a highly-anticipated clash. Fury has come out of retirement in order to make this bout happen and chose to fight Ngannou instead of defending his WBC heavyweight title. The match will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Fury hasn't fought since last December when he knocked out fellow Brit Derek Chisora to retain his belt. As for Ngannou, well, this is his boxing debut after a long career in the UFC. He signed with the Professional Fighter's League recently (PFL) after failing to come to an agreement with Dana White on a new extension. Keep reading for the Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou picks.
Before we get into the odds and predictions for this fight, check out the best boxing betting sites and where you can find our sportsbook reviews.
Fury vs Ngannou Odds
| Fighter |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyson Fury | -1000 | -1100 | -1000 |
| Francis Ngannou | +600 | +650 | +600 |
By no surprise, the more experienced Fury is a heavy -1000 moneyline favorite. Ngannou meanwhile is a clear underdog at +600. This is an exhibition fight that will go just 10 rounds. Both fighters are making a bag of money, too.
Fury The Legend
Yes, there's been a lot of top-tier heavyweights over the years. But, Tyson Fury is right in that conversation. His rise to stardom is inspiring as can be and despite being not the most physically appealing to look at, the Manchester native is a warrior in the ring. Fury is 33-1-0 in his boxing career with a mind-boggling 24 knockouts.
Fury first captured the WBC heavyweight title in February of 2020 when he beat Deontay Wilder in a marathon of a fight in Las Vegas, knocking him out in the seventh round. That means he's retained the WBC belt three times since then, beating Wilder again along with Dillian Whyte and Chisora. Now, Oleksandr Usyk, Andy Ruiz, and Anthony Joshua all wanted a chance to potentially strip Fury of his WBC belt but as he said they all "bottled" that opportunity.
However, recent developments have happened and Usyk and Fury are set to battle it out in late December for the heavyweight title. In fact, there is a rematch clause in the contract so either way, they will fight twice. So much for retirement for Fury. He's likely going to fight twice in a span of two months but depending on what happens in the Ngannou bout, the Usyk clash may be pushed back to January.
When it comes to Ngannou, there is no question Fury has to be careful because the Cameroonian is extremely powerful. That being said, the Englishman is the best of the best and will likely keep his distance with jabs before looking for that one big blow to potentially put Ngannou on the canvas. We'll see what happens.
New Territory For Ngannou
New territory? Well, kind of. Before Ngannou became a household name in the UFC, he began boxing in his homeland of Cameroon and always looked up to Mike Tyson. Once he fled to Europe, the goal was to be a professional boxer but things changed and he ended up getting into MMA. The rest is history. Evidently, Ngannou has some background in boxing and was known as a fierce striker in the UFC.
Tyson, an absolute legend of the sport, has actually been training Ngannou for this Fury fight and knows that the African has the sheer power to win this bout. The thing is, Fury is extremely experienced and knows how to handle opponents like Ngannou.
When it comes to Ngannou's UFC career, he was the first reigning champion to leave the company since BJ Penn in 2004 after White refused to insert a boxing clause in his new contract.
Since leaving the UFC, Ngannou has made it very clear he wants to have a career in boxing moving forward, with Wilder also on his list of potential opponents. While he'll surely fight in the PFL as well, the goal is to make a name for himself in the boxing world. Needless to say, Ngannou will if he pulls off the unthinkable on October 28th.
Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou Picks
It would be very difficult to back Ngannou against such a world-class opponent. With the moneyline offering basically no value, I could see this one going the distance. With +550 odds, that's worth a bet. I don't think you'll see either heavyweight get knocked out.
Check out our Bovada Sportsbook Review below for all of your boxing betting needs:
Online Sports Betting © 2024