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The worlds of MMA and boxing have collided many times over the years, with the most recent example being UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou's online feud with WBC title holder Tyson Fury.
'The Gypsy King', who recently signed a two-fight deal against Anthony Joshua to unify the heavyweight titles, took to Twitter to label Ngannou "easy work". The Cameroon-born fighter didn't hesitate to respond, fueling rumors that a major heavyweight boxing showdown could happen sometime in the near future.
While Tyson Fury will definitely head into a potential bout against Francis Ngannou as the favourite, here are 5 reasons why 'The Predator' could stage a famous upset.
#5 Francis Ngannou has the support of Mike Tyson
This might be an abstract point as former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson isn't exactly coaching Francis Ngannou. But over the last few years, Tyson has frequently been seen interacting with Ngannou, giving him advice and showing him a few tricks of the trade.
Ngannou appeared on Tyson's Hotboxin podcast recently, where the two heavyweights spoke about a number of topics including a potential switch to boxing. Should a showdown with Fury materialize, Ngannou could call upon the experience and fight IQ of his childhood hero.
In fact, 'Iron Mike' even gave his two cents on how he'd defeat Fury back in 2020, where he claimed that he'd "attack, use angles and stay away from punching distance". Clearly, Tyson has given this some thought and probably wouldn't mind sharing his knowledge with Ngannou.
#4 Francis Ngannou has shown marked technical improvements recently
In his recent fight against Stipe Miocic, Francis Ngannou recorded a violent second-round knockout and claimed the UFC heavyweight gold. The most notable aspect of his performance against Miocic was the clear improvement in technique and strategy.
Ngannou sprawled deftly to stuff Miocic's only takedown attempt of the fight, but the improvements were there to see in the striking department as well. He threw a few kicks and mixed up a few combinations, with an underrated, potent weapon being the jab.
As Miocic attempted to keep distance, Ngannou caught him with a number of powerful jabs, one of which dropped him and set up the fight-ending left hook. The 34-year-old's performance was much improved from the wild strategy he employed in his previous fight against Jairzinho Rozenstruik, and showed that he has advanced technically in all departments.
Against a pure boxer like Fury, power would've only gotten Ngannou so far. Fury would've probably pieced Ngannou up with jabs from the outside and been next to unhittable with his footwork and head movement, just like he was against Deontay Wilder.
But the current version of Francis Ngannou (although we have only a small sample size for this version) certainly has the ability to cause an upset against Fury.
#3 Francis Ngannou is firmly in his prime
At 34 years of age, Francis Ngannou is firmly in his prime. He has been through it all - a stellar start to his UFC career, a subsequent slump which saw him put in listless performances against Stipe Miocic and Derrick Lewis, and finally a remarkable resurgence to clinch the title.
It is important to realize that Francis Ngannou started training in combat sports much later than normal fighters. He hadn't had enough time to truly improve on his fundamentals while gaining valuable experience in the cage, both of which he has had now.
On a 5-fight win streak and #5 on the UFC pound-for-pound list, Ngannou is at the perfect stage of his career to take on Fury. He is as big a name as he has ever been and is in the best shape of his life.
#2 Francis Ngannou has a solid boxing background
Francis Ngannou's initial goal was to become a boxer of the ilk of Mike Tyson, and that is what he set out to accomplish in France before finding a home in MMA.
Speaking on the Joe Rogan Experience recently, 'The Predator' claimed that his intention was always to become a boxer, but couldn't do so because of the complicated system of promoters and politics in the sport. He started training boxing at the age of 22, almost five years before he commenced MMA.
Ngannou has a solid foundation in boxing that has been carefully built over the years. In March, he was even seen working with legendary boxing coach Teddy Atlas, who gave his pupil a number of expert tips that eventually helped him best Miocic.
Francis Ngannou can be seen as a boxer who's finally realizing his lifelong dream instead of as an MMA fighter who's entering unchartered territory.
#1 Francis Ngannou has bone-chilling knockout power
This might be the most obvious choice on this list, but it's also the most important. Irrespective of how technically superior Fury is, Ngannou will always be in with a puncher's chance.
Gloves or not, Fury will go down if Ngannou connects cleanly. Alistair Overeem, Stipe Miocic, Junior dos Santos, Cain Velasquez and Andrei Arlovski, who are among the greatest heavyweights ever, have all been on the wrong side of Ngannou's freak power.
Fury, who was dropped by Wilder in their first meeting and barely managed to survive, must be wary of Francis Ngannou's bone-chilling power throughout the duration of a potential fight. The UFC heavyweight champion certainly has the strength to upset Fury, should their paths ever cross.
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