Tyson Fury And Francis Ngannou Confirm ‘Hybrid’ Fight After Fury’s Win

Whyte, who has been downed just twice in his career, turned out to be the one who would face defeat again. With Tyson fully dominating, he was hurt early on in the fight and eventually sat down in the contest.

The stats show Fury, the WBC heavyweight champion, had an overwhelming advantage throughout the fight. He seemed to be one step ahead of White, and it was utter domination from the champion.

Fury might be wise to consider retirement, having amassed a large chunk of wealth and written his name as one of the greatest heavyweights in history. In his post-fight speech, the 33-year-old once again affirmed his retirement plans saying, “I think this is it. This might be the final curtain for the Gypsy King.”

Fury and Ngannou Reach Verbal Agreement

Francis Ngannou, as reported by Ariel Helwani, sat by the ring-side as a guest of one of his sponsors, Gym Shark, alongside his agent, Marquel Martin.

The UFC heavyweight champion, Ngannou, was invited to the ring by Fury to celebrate his victory during a separate postfight interview with ESPN’s Bernardo Osuna. The pair, who have always traded words and shown attention in creating a blockbuster match, rekindled their interests in a possible future fight.

Currently, Ngannou is signed to the UFC, and with his promotion differing from Fury’s, they have always been a disagreement as to what rules their fight follows. 

With excitement brewing over Tyson, the ‘Gypsy King’ expressed his openness to exhibition matchups, citing the purse Floyd Mayweather bagged during his exhibition matches as a morale booster. “I want to have fun. I’m an entertainer. … It’s what I do best, Big Francis Ngannou is here today, he’s on my hit list in an exhibition fight, however he wants it: in a cage, in a boxing ring, boxing gloves, UFC gloves, we can make it happen…”

Ngannou accepted the challenge and succumbed to the excited Fury’s talks while also promising the fans a match-up with hybrid rules would be put into place.

What’s Next For Both Parties?

Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou might have to wait until 2023 before their proposed bout can be fulfilled.

Fury, who has aged like a red wine, showed a dominant display once again. Should the much-touted hybrid matchup not materialize, a unification match against Alexander Usyk, who gained the possession of other heavyweight belts after defeating Anthony Joshua. The champion might as well face Anthony Joshua, who, just like Whyte, never had a matchup against Tyson Fury transpire if the Usyk fight cannot be booked.

Ngannou, on the other hand, is currently sidelined with an injury. In recent months, the Cameroonian has been in a back and forth contractual discussion with the UFC chief Dana White over his payment structure and inability to compete in other promotions.

After his successful title defense against Cyril Gane, ‘The Predator’ is to remain with the UFC until 2023 or when he forfeits his belt. He could try and negotiate something out of the UFC while still on contract just as McGregor did, but Ngannou is not near the star power of McGregor.

Most likely, we see Ngannou return to the UFC and defend his heavyweight title, but there is no guarantee he stays in the Octagon. If he wants to box, though, he will, and boxing champion Francis Ngannou has a ring to it.