Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury: How does the ex-UFC star compare against the boxing heavyweights in height, weight, and reach
Francis Ngannou stacks up well with heavyweight boxers such as Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.
'The Predator' is now a professional boxer. After years of speculation about how Ngannou would look in the boxing ring, he finally left the UFC last year. While he quickly signed with the PFL, it was clear he wasn't stopping there.
Last October, Ngannou made his boxing debut against 'The Gypsy King'. Headed into the matchup, the former UFC champion was naturally a massive underdog. However, he nearly upset Fury that night in Saudi Arabia, even scoring a rare knockdown of the British boxer.
In hindsight, fans and bettors probably should've given Ngannou more of a shot. While he lacked the boxing experience, the former UFC champion is close to Fury in stature. Standing at 6'4", Ngannou is only a few inches shorter than the 6'9" Brit.
Weight-wise, Fury was the heavier man at 277.7 pounds, compared to Ngannou's 272. 1 pounds. Reach-wise, the British boxer holds an 85-inch reach, while the MMA fighter has an 83-inch reach. While Fury was the bigger man, Ngannou's next fight will be closer in terms of size.
Earlier this month, Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou was booked. 'AJ' stands at 6'6", holds an 82-inch reach, and weighed 251 pounds in his fight against Otto Wallin last month. Heavyweight is truly the land of the giants.
Eddie Hearn believes Francis Ngannou could lead to Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua
Eddie Hearn plans to use Francis Ngannou as a stepping stone to build Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua.
While 'The Predator' is the talk of the combat sports world, the head of Matchroom has long held the same opinion of him. Until Ngannou's boxing debut against 'The Gypsy King', Hearn downplayed his chances.
Furthermore, he showed no interest in booking a boxing match with the MMA fighter until that night. He later called for Ngannou to face 'AJ', and he got his wish earlier this month. As of now, the two are set to collide on March 8 in Saudi Arabia.
However, Eddie Hearn had multiple reasons for booking Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua. Speaking on The MMA Hour earlier this week, the promoter said:
"Look, if Tyson Fury beats Oleksandr Usyk, and 'AJ' knocks out Francis Ngannou, our plan is to probably go on and fight for the IBF world title. But you know the entire world is going to say, 'Give me 'AJ' against Tyson Fury.' There'll never be a bigger fight in the history of the sport, in my opinion. So, we'll see [if that's next]."
Check out his comments below (12:02)