The best punch trackers on the market
28th May 2020
By: BOXING GURU
Fight fans could be set for a heavyweight blockbuster crossover fight between boxing’s Dillian Whyte and the UFC’s Francis Ngannou.
Promoter Eddie Hearn says fans of both disciplines believe Whyte vs Ngannou is a cracker and has generated a lot of momentum and a lot of promise.
“I think there’s a really good chance it could happen. The aim for Dillian Whyte is to become a world boxing champion, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Dillian Whyte against Ngannou towards the end of this year. I’m going to be reaching out to Dana White and saying: ‘Tell me how this works? Can we actually do this? Are we doing it in a ring? Are we doing it in a cage? Are we doing one round of each?”
The fight could be staged later this year, but first, Whyte has the Russian Alexander Povetkin to deal with when boxing resumes which cannot and will not be overlooked by the Brixton man. What is clear though, is that both fighters are keen on the idea of a crossover matchup.
Whyte said, “Don’t just talk about it – Let’s do it! Ngannou is dumber than he sounds if he thinks he’s going to do anything in boxing! I have called Ngannou a coward because, for a guy who is 6’4 and 18 stone, he has not shown enough heart in his two defeats. Ngannou said he would like a boxing match, but I notice he didn’t mention my name, even after I publicly called him a coward. Says it all really. However, I like the sound of stepping over to the UFC, seeing what sort of deal could be done. Becoming a heavyweight champion in both is something no one has ever come close to doing before.”
Ngannou has stated he would like to fight the world’s top 10 heavyweight boxers. “Whoever is possible and whenever is possible – I am always confident in my power”
With many fans not appreciating recent bouts with a crossover of disciplines, this could finally be one that works with a combination of boxing and MMA rules. Whyte is no stranger to the cage and has an extensive professional kickboxing background where he became a two-time British heavyweight champion as well as European K1 champion and for 5 years was ranked as the U.K’s number 1. Whyte scored this savage knockout (see below) on his MMA debut back in December 2008 against Mark Stroud after just 12 seconds of the first round.
On the other hand, Ngannou sparred 8 rounds of boxing with Joe Joyce back in March in Las Vegas and the Juggernaut’s manager Sam Jones believes the Cameroonian could easily make the transition to the sweet science.
“Let me tell you something about Ngannou – he can box at a high level,” said Jones. “Ngannou and Joe went eight rounds of holding their feet. It was the most entertaining spar I’ve ever seen Joe in. Ngannou is one of the strongest men you will ever see in any combat sport.”