A photo that will surely go down as iconic in boxing history
Ngannou, in reality, was a victor when he escaped the sand quarry where he worked as a 10-year-old in Cameroon. He was a victor when he left prison in Spain after making it to Europe after numerous failed attempts, and when he honed his martial arts skills to the degree that he could finally leave poverty behind him, in Paris. He was a victor when he won the UFC heavyweight title, and an even greater victor when he boldly relinquished that belt and walked away from a contract that would have made him the highest-paid heavyweight in UFC history.
He was a victor when he signed to fight Fury and secured a purse that eclipsed his entire UFC earnings, and he was a victor when he sent the lineal boxing heavyweight champion cascading to the canvas in Saudi Arabia – even if he wasn’t a victor when the scorecards were revealed.
Fury, meanwhile, was a loser in victory. His undisputed-title clash with Oleksandr Usyk, with whom he shared the ring after ‘beating’ Ngannou, has been mooted for 23 December. It was seemingly Fury pushing for that date, while rumours suggested that Usyk would not be ready in time. But as they spoke to one another in the ring, it was the Ukrainian who demanded that they square off in two months, while Fury and his promoter distanced themselves from the date in question.
Fury and Usyk facing off after the Briton’s narrow win over Ngannou
Earlier this week, Fury suggested that he would “sue” Usyk if the 36-year-old did not fight him on 23 December. Now, Fury’s side are calling for January or February; so, they can expect to be sued, then? Almost certainly not, is the answer of course; there is no public proof that the date is mentioned in their contract, which is why it was silly for Fury to use it against Usyk in the first place.
It is at least understandable that Fury’s team are pushing for the fight to take place next year, though. It is hard to imagine this version of Fury beating Usyk in December or at all, as different as the southpaw’s skills are when compared to Ngannou’s.
And what was this version of Fury? Alongside his pre-fight table-tennis jibe, he claimed that he could have beaten Ngannou after drinking “25 pints of beer”. Here’s hoping the post-fight drug test included a breathalyzer.
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