In recent times, few events have garnered as much attention as the bout between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia. The clash between these two titans left the world awe-struck, igniting discussions and speculations within the combat sports community.
On October 28, Ngannou stepped into the boxing ring for his professional boxing debut. He faced the formidable heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. Despite entering as the underdog, Ngannou defied all odds to deliver a remarkable performance that captivated audiences worldwide.
Since then, fans of the sport have been eager to learn what Ngannou will do next. Joe Rogan and Dwayne Johnson chimed in with their perspectives on the recent episode of JRE.
Expressing his thoughts, Rogan stated: “Get as much money as you can. This is what I think they should do. Put him in with a heavyweight boxer that he can beat who has a good record. Someone who’s in the argument of a top ten [ranking], and if Francis knocks that guy out, they can try to coax Tyson Fury into a rematch.”
“That would be f*cking bananas and I think Saudi Arabia has enough money to actually pull it off. They might be able to bait Tyson in with some life-changing generational money.”
Despite suffering cuts, bruises, and knockdowns during the ten-round bout, Fury emerged victorious by split decision.
Even though he had another victory under his belt when he departed Riyadh, his standing as the world’s best boxer suffered a significant blow. If they were to decide to do it again, Rogan thinks Fury would take a different tack.
Rogan said: “He certainly underestimated Francis. I don’t know how he trained for Francis. He said he trained as hard as ever, which is possible because he always looks that way. Like Fedor [Emelianenko], he has this very disarming body and he jokes around about it.”
“He’s a character. I love the guy to death, but I think if he knows now what he’s up against and he just boxes with a real understanding of the consequences of making a mistake, I think it’s probably a different fight.”
Rogan went on to say, “One of the things you see from Tyson Fury when he does have a rematch, he performs so much better. Like the Deontay Wilder fight. Perfect example. First fight, down to the wire. Dropped in the last round. It’s a draw. Second fight, dominates. Third fight, dominant.”
Johnson echoed this sentiment, contemplating Fury’s internal drive as a champion. He speculated on Fury’s mindset, questioning whether the rematch with Ngannou could be a personal challenge that Fury feels compelled to undertake.
Johnson stated: “There’s two trains of thought here. One is, ‘I don’t actually need to fight him again.’ There’s that train of thought, but then I wonder if he goes back to the champion mentality where, ‘As a champion, I need to fight that guy.'”
He went on to say, “With Tyson, it just feels like [in his head], it’s a fight that I need. Just in terms of… As champion, the mentality. The feeling that’s in here, the mana. I need to do that again.”
Despite the anticipation for a potential Fury-Ngannou rematch, Tyson Fury is set for a title unification clash against Oleksandr Usyk in February.
As Ngannou now sits among the top ten in the WBC rankings, the possibility of a future showdown between the winner and Ngannou looms large.