A loss for Tyson Fury could prove to be a win for Francis Ngannou.
Had “The Gypsy King” defeated Oleksandr Usyk last weekend in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, there was little chance Ngannou would have scored a second go-round against the British brute, previously losing to Fury by way of razor-thin split decision back in late 2023.
Instead, Usyk cruised to a comfortable decision victory over Fury — despite this complaint — and could move on to unify the belts against Daniel Dubois (or Joseph Parker) in late 2025. That frees up Fury to give “The Predator” a chance to avenge his loss.
“I think the fight was pretty close,” Ngannou told Pro Boxing Fans. “I would have scored the fight closer than that, maybe Usyk still wins. I mean, at the end of the fight I wasn’t sure that anybody is the winner because everybody could have been the winner. From my scorecard, it was closer than that. What I want to see now is Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou. That’s all that matters to me.”
Promoter Eddie Hearn has other ideas, pitching Fury against fellow heavyweight titan Anthony Joshua. Ngannou was flattened by Joshua earlier this year and “AJ” has yet to throw hands against “The Gypsy King,” creating a more compelling fight for boxing fans.
Ngannou, 38, is currently under contract with Professional Fighters League (PFL) but has just one fight inside the SmartCage after joining the promotion back in early 2023. As of this writing, “The Predator” has nothing lined up for his eventual return to MMA.
For much more on last weekend’s “Usyk vs. Fury 2” card click here.