Oscar De La Hoya Assesses Francis Ngannou’s Chances Against Tyson Fury

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Former 11-time boxing world champion-turned-promoter Oscar De La Hoya has given his take on Francis Ngannou‘s plans to box Tyson Fury.
For over a year, Ngannou has made his desire to fulfil a lifelong ambition inside the ring clear. Prior to what turned out to be his final UFC fight, a successful defense of the heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane last January, “The Predator” went as far as to brand the freedom to box as non-negotiable on any new deal with the MMA leader.
Fast forward 12 months and the Cameroonian sits as an unrestricted free agent. The decision to leave was confirmed earlier this month after Ngannou turned down the UFC’s final contract offer once the promotion failed to accommodate a number of demands.

With that, the future is uncertain for Ngannou, who was seemingly being lined up to welcome former light heavyweight king Jon Jones back to the Octagon prior to his departure.
But while he’s missed out on a date in the cage with “Bones,” a meeting in the ring with the WBC heavyweight champion now appears to be on the cards. Should that come to fruition, however, one legendary pugilist isn’t expecting a whole lot of success for Ngannou.
De La Hoya Speaks On Fury’s “Huge Advantage” Over Ngannou
During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Oscar De La Hoya assessed the possibility of Francis Ngannou and Tyson Fury standing across from one another.
During his career, “The Golden Boy” collected 11 world titles across six different weight classes. With that in mind, he’s well placed to speak on Ngannou’s chances against one of boxing’s greatest-ever heavyweights.
And while De La Hoya believes “The Predator” has what it takes to last a few rounds, he doesn’t think the former UFC star could ultimately overcome the “huge advantage” that is Fury’s pugilism experience.
“Fighters like [Ngannou], I think he can hang in there for a few rounds,” De La Hoya said. “If it’s a boxing ring, he obviously can hang in there for a few rounds, but Tyson Fury is a guy who grew up boxing. That was his thing and that’s his sport. Huge advantage for Fury. Obviously, if it was in a cage it would be a whole different story. [Ngannou] would tap him out or whatever, kick him and knock him out in 30 seconds. Totally different sports.”
Nevertheless, although De La Hoya doesn’t expect the bout to be particularly competitive if under boxing rules, he does envision the event being a spectacle that will attract a huge audience, akin to the fighting days of Mike Tyson.
“But I think it will be great for both sports. I think it will be great for boxing because it will be a huge fight,” De La Hoya noted. “It will be a mega event like when [Mike] Tyson was fighting. You had all that hype behind these big events and fights. It would be that big.”
With that said, it’s perhaps unsurprising that the 49-year-old promoter is open to doing business with Ngannou following his exit from the UFC. De La Hoya founded Golden Boy Promotions in 2002, a firm that’s promoted the likes of Canelo Álvarez, Ricky Hatton, Adrien Broner, Manny Pacquiao, and Deontay Wilder in the past.
De La Hoya has also previously worked with MMA fighters, hosting the widely criticized trilogy fight between Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell back in 2018.
“I would love to speak to [Ngannou],” De La Hoya said. “Any fighter who is an MMA fighter, I’m here, I would love to speak to anybody. I would love to pick their brain, I would love to maybe sit down and discuss some business. I’m all for it. I think these fighters who are MMA fighters who have been with the UFC or are with the UFC, I would love to just talk from fighter to fighter and pick each other’s brains and see what happens.”
Talk of Ngannou and Fury facing off in some form picked up in 2022 when the pair stood face to face inside Wembley Stadium following the Brit’s knockout win over Dillian Whyte.
While momentum for the crossover clash appeared to collapse when “The Gypsy King” recommitted himself to his reign as WBC heavyweight king, he recently called “The Predator” out for a mixed-rules bout.

Do you agree with Oscar De La Hoya’s thoughts on a possible crossover match between Francis Ngannou and Tyson Fury?
Quotes h/t MMA Fighting.

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Former 11-time boxing world champion-turned-promoter Oscar De La Hoya has given his take on Francis Ngannou‘s plans to box Tyson Fury.


For over a year, Ngannou has made his desire to fulfil a lifelong ambition inside the ring clear. Prior to what turned out to be his final UFC fight, a successful defense of the heavyweight title against Ciryl Gane last January, “The Predator” went as far as to brand the freedom to box as non-negotiable on any new deal with the MMA leader.


Fast forward 12 months and the Cameroonian sits as an unrestricted free agent. The decision to leave was confirmed earlier this month after Ngannou turned down the UFC’s final contract offer once the promotion failed to accommodate a number of demands.



With that, the future is uncertain for Ngannou, who was seemingly being lined up to welcome former light heavyweight king Jon Jones back to the Octagon prior to his departure.


But while he’s missed out on a date in the cage with “Bones,” a meeting in the ring with the WBC heavyweight champion now appears to be on the cards. Should that come to fruition, however, one legendary pugilist isn’t expecting a whole lot of success for Ngannou.


De La Hoya Speaks On Fury’s “Huge Advantage” Over Ngannou
During a recent appearance on The MMA Hour with Ariel Helwani, Oscar De La Hoya assessed the possibility of Francis Ngannou and Tyson Fury standing across from one another.


During his career, “The Golden Boy” collected 11 world titles across six different weight classes. With that in mind, he’s well placed to speak on Ngannou’s chances against one of boxing’s greatest-ever heavyweights.


And while De La Hoya believes “The Predator” has what it takes to last a few rounds, he doesn’t think the former UFC star could ultimately overcome the “huge advantage” that is Fury’s pugilism experience.


“Fighters like [Ngannou], I think he can hang in there for a few rounds,” De La Hoya said. “If it’s a boxing ring, he obviously can hang in there for a few rounds, but Tyson Fury is a guy who grew up boxing. That was his thing and that’s his sport. Huge advantage for Fury. Obviously, if it was in a cage it would be a whole different story. [Ngannou] would tap him out or whatever, kick him and knock him out in 30 seconds. Totally different sports.”


Nevertheless, although De La Hoya doesn’t expect the bout to be particularly competitive if under boxing rules, he does envision the event being a spectacle that will attract a huge audience, akin to the fighting days of Mike Tyson.


“But I think it will be great for both sports. I think it will be great for boxing because it will be a huge fight,” De La Hoya noted. “It will be a mega event like when [Mike] Tyson was fighting. You had all that hype behind these big events and fights. It would be that big.”

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With that said, it’s perhaps unsurprising that the 49-year-old promoter is open to doing business with Ngannou following his exit from the UFC. De La Hoya founded Golden Boy Promotions in 2002, a firm that’s promoted the likes of Canelo Álvarez, Ricky Hatton, Adrien Broner, Manny Pacquiao, and Deontay Wilder in the past.


De La Hoya has also previously worked with MMA fighters, hosting the widely criticized trilogy fight between Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell back in 2018.


“I would love to speak to [Ngannou],” De La Hoya said. “Any fighter who is an MMA fighter, I’m here, I would love to speak to anybody. I would love to pick their brain, I would love to maybe sit down and discuss some business. I’m all for it. I think these fighters who are MMA fighters who have been with the UFC or are with the UFC, I would love to just talk from fighter to fighter and pick each other’s brains and see what happens.”


Talk of Ngannou and Fury facing off in some form picked up in 2022 when the pair stood face to face inside Wembley Stadium following the Brit’s knockout win over Dillian Whyte.


While momentum for the crossover clash appeared to collapse when “The Gypsy King” recommitted himself to his reign as WBC heavyweight king, he recently called “The Predator” out for a mixed-rules bout.



Do you agree with Oscar De La Hoya’s thoughts on a possible crossover match between Francis Ngannou and Tyson Fury?


Quotes h/t MMA Fighting.




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