The evolution of Francis Ngannou – from wild UFC fighter to man who troubled Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua foe

08/03/2024 13:18

Francis Ngannou’s boxing skills have evolved immeasurably since his UFC days.

The Cameroonian cage fighter blazed a trail of destruction through MMA‘s premier promotion during his seven-year stint with the company.

He is widely considered to be one of the hardest hitters in the history of the sport and has a highlight reel of devastating knockouts to attest to the fact.

The majority of his stoppages came from stand-up exchanges and although his earth-shattering power was clear to see he did leave a lot left to be desired when it came to his boxing fundamentals.

So when it was announced he would be boxing lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury last October few gave him even the slimmest of chances.

Yet the boxing novice nearly did the unthinkable against his 35-fight adversary.

But how did he do it? And was it really a case of Ngannou making massive strives as a boxer or did his success have more to do with Fury having an off night?

Here, talkSPORT.com answers those questions ahead of Ngannou’s upcoming blockbuster showdown with Anthony Joshua.

The evolution of Ngannou

To say that Ngannou was only able to compete with Fury because the Mancunian wasn’t at his best is disrespectful to the former UFC heavyweight champion’s pugilistic improvements.

Of course, it played a part but it wasn’t the sole reason for Ngannou’s stellar outing.

When he fought in MMA he was very wild and often lost his shape when unloading combinations.

One look at his 20-second demolition of Jairzinho Rozenstruik back in 2020 will reveal as much.

Although he took care of Rozenstruik quickly his maniacal swings left boxing purists cringing.

Videos of the stoppage circulated on forums at the time with thousands of fans poking fun at Ngannou’s technique.

But no one was laughing when Ngannou dropped and nearly stopped Fury.

The writing was on the metaphorical wall early doors. Ngannou looked like a completely different fighter when he stepped into the squared circle for the first time.

For one, he held his shape well. Regardless of what was thrown at him, Ngannou remained composed and rarely overextended – a difficult habit to unlearn.

The 37-year-old’s strongest punches are his left hook and overhand right.

In MMA, he did little to disguise them but against Fury, everything was set up behind a stiff lead jab that varied from head to body.

Clearly, Ngannou had been working hard to improve his fundamentals and he reaped the rewards as a result.

How did Ngannou trouble Fury?

Part of what allowed Ngannou to succeed against Fury was his composure in the face of adversity.

No matter what Fury threw at him Ngannou walked forward undeterred.

This, in turn, allowed the MMA star to fight fire with fire – with little concern for what was coming back at him.

He tasted a crisp right hand from the WBC champion in the opening stanza, realised he could take it, and then began to let his hands go.

Being the bigger, more explosive puncher Ngannou got the better of the majority of these exchanges.

By planting his feet, absorbing Fury’s shots on his gloves and keeping his eye on the target he was able to punch between Fury’s shots and catch him as he was resetting.

A perfect example of this came in round three when he absorbed a one-two and came over the top with a left hook that sent Fury tumbling to the canvas.

In the fourth round, when he had Fury on unsteady legs again, the damage was inflicted by a clubbing right hand as his adversary recoiled after another combination.

Realising he was at a disadvantage in these short-range exchanges Fury began tying up Ngannou on the inside to stop the Cameroonian puncher from teeing off up close.

However, with all of Ngannou’s wrestling experience and superior strength, this only proved to be a hindrance for Fury.

In the grappling exchanges, Ngannou was able to create space for some short shots off the break and manoeuvre Fury around the ring as he pleased.

Some clever boxing may have been enough for Fury to win the contest on two of the three scorecards but Ngannou came away with the moral victory when it was all said and done.