David Haye shares thoughts on last year’s Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou fight
Former two-weight world champion David Haye believes that Francis Ngannou did enough to beat lineal and WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury back in October last year.
On his professional boxing debut, UFC legend Ngannou scored a third-round knockdown against Fury, but was denied the win on all three judges’ scorecards in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Speaking on X, Haye said: “In my view, Ngannou had the edge, winning more rounds than he lost, including a legit knockdown, that 10-8 round was significant.
“Ngannou’s control in a boxing ring with only boxing rules impressed me the most, particularly as it was his first ever boxing match.
“Despite Fury’s victory, let’s pay our respect to Ngannou’s status as ‘The Baddest Man on The Planet’.”
Fury will return to Riyadh to face Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight crown on May 18.
The two undefeated champions were forced to reschedule their bout after Fury sustained a cut above his right eye in sparring.
Ngannou, meanwhile, will get the opportunity to showcase his boxing ability once again, this time against former two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on March 8.
It will be the former UFC heavyweight champion’s second 10-round bout which, again, takes place in Riyadh, headlining a stacked card featuring Joseph Parker vs Zhilei Zhang as chief support.
The plan for Turki Alalshikh – ranked by Boxing News as the most influential person in the sport – is to, eventually, match the two winners up against each other, once any rematch clauses have been dealt with.
This may see the showdown that British fight fans have long been waiting for – Fury vs Joshua.
But, for now, it is a case of patiently waiting for the two scheduled blockbuster fights to play out.