Francis Ngannou, the Cameroonian combat sports icon who has fought his way from the sand mines of Batié to the pinnacle of global heavyweight competition, says he cannot split Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua ahead of their long-anticipated showdown — and his reasoning carries a weight that no pundit or analyst can match. He has been in the ring with both men.
Speaking to reporters at Palladium Times Square in New York City on Wednesday, Ngannou offered what may be the most informed preview of the Fury-Joshua matchup available. Having faced both British heavyweights in consecutive bouts between October 2023 and May 2024, his assessment is grounded not in speculation but in lived, bruising experience. "I think either can win," Ngannou told DAZN News. "It's going to be a very close fight."
Fury's Ring Intelligence Earns Ngannou's Respect
While declining to name an outright winner, Ngannou's words tilted toward Fury when pressed, and understandably so. Their October 2023 encounter in Riyadh was one of boxing's most dramatic nights in years. Ngannou — a former UFC heavyweight champion with no professional boxing record to speak of — dropped Fury with a sweeping left hand that sent shockwaves through the sport. Fury clawed his way back and ultimately won by split decision, but the closeness of the result burnished Ngannou's reputation and Fury's survival instincts in equal measure.
"We all know that Fury is very slick," Ngannou said. "I think he's a guy that has been giving boxers a very hard time. Maybe when you're an unorthodox guy he cannot figure you out, but he figures boxers out pretty easily." For Joshua — a technically schooled, orthodox heavyweight — that observation carries a pointed warning. Fury has made a career of dismantling fighters who fight by the textbook, from Wladimir Klitschko to Deontay Wilder.
Joshua's Power Left a Lasting Impression
The experience against Anthony Joshua told a starkly different story. In May 2024, in a bout billed as "Knockout Chaos" in Riyadh, Ngannou was stopped in the second round, left motionless on the canvas before recovering. It was a brutal, sobering finish — a reminder that Joshua, despite his recent struggles against elite opposition, remains one of the sport's most devastating punchers. With 29 of his 33 professional victories coming by stoppage, Joshua's power is not a myth. Ngannou felt it firsthand.
The contrasting nature of those two experiences — nearly dethroning Fury, then being finished in two rounds by Joshua — is precisely what gives Ngannou's verdict its credibility. He is not guessing. He is recalling. And what he recalls is two heavyweight operators with entirely different tools: one a masterclass in evasion, disruption and ring generalship; the other a physically imposing finisher capable of ending a fight in an instant.
Ngannou Returns to the Ring on May 16
Ngannou was in New York for a Most Valuable Promotions press conference, where it was confirmed he will return to competitive boxing on May 16 against Brazilian heavyweight Philipe Lins. The card is headlined by Ronda Rousey's return to combat sports, where she is set to face Gina Carano. For Ngannou, the bout represents his first action since the Joshua defeat and an opportunity to rebuild momentum ahead of a potential Fury rematch — a fight he has publicly expressed interest in pursuing.
Whether Fury and Joshua ever actually share a ring after years of failed negotiations and postponements remains an open question. But when they do, Ngannou's ringside verdict — built not on narrative or promotional hype, but on the memory of two very different fights — may prove to be the most honest preview anyone has offered. "It's going to be a very close fight," he said. From a man who knows both men's arsenals intimately, that is not a hedge. It is a warning."
