Junior Dos Santos, a former opponent of Francis Ngannou, commented on the upcoming fight between Ngannou and boxing champion Tyson Fury, stating that while he is happy for Ngannou’s chance to box and the hefty payday, he does not see a high chance for Ngannou’s victory due to lack of boxing skills, despite his strength and power in strikes.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is all set to face boxing icon Tyson Fury in a highly anticipated match on Oct. 28. This is Ngannou’s most profitable match yet, but Junior Dos Santos, his former opponent, doesn’t believe Ngannou stands much of a chance. Despite Dos Santos acknowledging Ngannou’s rise in MMA and approving that he’s getting huge payday and a chance to try his hand at boxing, he warns that this match might end up being quite “ugly” for him.
Dos Santos doubts Ngannou’s boxing skills, stating, “I obviously don’t see much chance for Francis Ngannou. In my opinion, he doesn’t have boxing, he has power and strength. His strikes come unexpectedly and from all angles, you don’t know what to expect, and he has a lot of knockout power, since he has long and powerful arms, but I don’t see much quality in his boxing.” He further raised concerns about Ngannou’s primary strength – his knockout power – that may diminish over time and with larger gloves, especially when squaring up against a seasoned boxer like Tyson Fury.
Meanwhile, Fury, with professional boxing score of 33-0-1 and 24 knockout wins, continues to bask in fan anticipation of him sharing the ring with Oleksandr Usyk. The Ngannou-Fury match is seen by Dos Santos as being potentially lucrative, akin to Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor bouts, due to Ngannou’s flourishing MMA popularity. Recollecting Mayweather’s deliberate slow start to the McGregor fight, he predicted a similar performance by Fury in order to “sell” the show. Dos Santos quips, “Tyson will cook the rooster in the first rounds, because he owes people a show, and then he’ll slowly break Ngannou.”
Drawing from his recent victory against Fabricio Werdum, yet again, this time under bare-knuckle MMA rules in Gamebred Bareknuckle MMA, Dos Santos understands why Fury is considered a favorite, with his long boxing history and accustomed endurance for 12-round bouts. He shared his prediction for the match saying, “Honestly, I’d give Tyson a 95 percent chance to win, and five percent to Ngannou. That five percent is only because Ngannou is an MMA player with certain qualities. But boxing is a different sport. Ngannou should rush forward in the first three rounds. He shouldn’t give Fury any space, close the distance early, and unleash all his power upfront. But if he waits too long, things will turn ugly.