Random thoughts: No hate for Fury-Ngannou, just disappointment
Plus: Great week in boxing coming; what Haney should do; fight idea for Stanionis; Baumgardner star power; this veteran should consider retiring; Canelo's move; nothing wrong with AJ-Whyte; MUCH more
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No, I am not thrilled heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will next fight former UFC champion Francis Ngannou on Oct. 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. But this is no get-off-my-lawn column and, no, I am not calling for a boycott as some have absurdly suggested.
My reasons for general apathy are not just because everyone involved will be complicit in the Saudis throwing their money around in an effort to continue to sportswash the fact that the government kills journalists, treats women horrendously and generally has an atrocious human rights record.
But let’s focus this on the boxing aspect, first and foremost of which is that this exercise is another silly and pointless crossover fight in which the MMA guy with zero boxing experience will come to the ring and have very little chance to win or even compete against the best heavyweight boxer in the world.
It is hardly, as the promotional hype insists, a fight to determine who the baddest man on the planet is. This fight cannot possibly do that because they come from different sports, and this is a boxing match. That means they are not fighting on a level playing field like when King Kong and Godzilla squared off. And, no, it isn’t a “game changer,” as Fury co-promoter Frank Warren claims.
We’ve been there done that with crossover bouts several times at this point, most notably with Floyd Mayweather carrying UFC star Conor McGregor for several rounds before easily knocking him out in the expected one-sided destruction in 2017. That was a blockbuster event (second-biggest PPV ever), mainly because it was the first crossover fight between big stars, both of whom also had big mouths.
