Francis Ngannou has the sort of confidence that you’re just born with. From the way he walks to the way he talks, the former UFC star normally enters a room knowing that he’s the baddest man in the building.
During his UFC days, Ngannou tore through his competition. But the pernicious knockouts he was getting were in an entirely different sport. In a boxing ring, Ngannou was nothing more than a newbie, a very popular one but a newbie nonetheless.
Last Saturday night, Ngannou’s arbitrary story was seemingly on the verge of coming to an end. On the night, he found himself facing arguably the best heavyweight in the world in Tyson Fury. Practically no one, outside of the MMA community, gave the debutant much of a chance. Billy Joe Saunders, similarly, was expecting his good friend to take care of business without breaking a sweat. Ultimately, that isn’t how things went down.
Fury struggled mightily. In addition to getting dropped in the second round, he was also outboxed for long stretches. While Fury’s performance may have been shocking to most, Saunders, once the opening bell rang, had a feeling that the current WBC heavyweight belt holder was going to have his hands full.
“From round one I knew he was going to have a tough night,” Saunders told talkSPORT Boxing. “I know Tyson inside and out. If Tyson was a fraction of himself, Ngannou wouldn’t land a glove on him.”
After the final bell sounded, Fury waited anxiously to hear how the three judges sitting ringside scored it. Sweat may have formed on his palms, but Fury managed to leave the ring with his championship status still intact.
From Saunders’ point of view, he isn’t arguing with the final decision. Although some vehemently believe Ngannou did enough, Saunders spent some time reminding fans of a key factor.
“You couldn’t argue which way it went. It was very, very close but don’t forget, Tyson is the champion and Ngannou is in Tyson’s house.”