Francis Ngannou how bad was he really

[Atypicalbrit]

When you think in the current heavyweight Division we have had recently world title challengers like Gerald Washington for example.

I'd say just the pure and simple fact that Ngannou was a very tough guy, strong, with a good chin and most importantly had a lot of guts and genuinely wanted to fight put's him above guys like Gerald Washington and Malik Scott by default.

We also had highly rated guys like Joe Joyce despite being so slow it's ridiculous, Hrgovic who is a guy who quite literally daydreams in fights like he has ADD, and Zhang who is 40 years old and has a heart defect.

And sure Ngannou only had basic boxing skills but so does Wilder and look how far he's gone. Does Ngannou really have less "skill" than an Alex Leapai or a Marius Wach, who both challenged for titles in recent memory?

I'm not sure why Ngannou was thought so little of, Heavyweight is a dreadfully poor division and Ngannou had a lot more to offer than many title challengers recently. The only thing he didn't have is experience, but tbh that's overrated anyway as you are either good enough or you aren't.

[tonysoprano]

I think HW boxing is a different sport. It’s more about size, weight and how you use that than boxing skills.

One reason Usyk can thrive there is he is a vastly superior boxer technically. In lower weight classes he wouldn’t have that gap.

[HeadShots]

I think HW boxing is a different sport. It’s more about size, weight and how you use that than boxing skills.

One reason Usyk can thrive there is he is a vastly superior boxer technically. In lower weight classes he wouldn’t have that gap.

usyk hasn't fought a heavyweight that utilizes their size. the one who did, Chisora gave him the most trouble. roughed him up even.


Dubois and Joshua were content boxing at distance. even tho Dubois did TKO Usyk with a legal body shot. he was too content sitting back and shooting jabs.

[Atypicalbrit]

I think HW boxing is a different sport. It’s more about size, weight and how you use that than boxing skills.

One reason Usyk can thrive there is he is a vastly superior boxer technically. In lower weight classes he wouldn’t have that gap.

It's true.

If you compare Mcgregor vs Floyd for example it was easy enough work for Floyd because skill and technique was the most important.

Ngannou and Fury didn't really have any skill or technique and it was more down to physical dimensions.

[TMLT87]

Even before the Fury fight I expected that he would have a shot against guys at like Miller, Browne, Washington, Helenius, Kownacki, Breazele, old Pulev etc level, although obviously I didnt expect him to be able to do that to Fury. At the end of the day athleticism, power, strength, size etc go a long way, especially at HW where the pool is smaller and the level of skill and athleticism is typically lower. Ngannou is a specimen compared to most of these guys. I think Gane, Pavlovich and Aspinall could put on a respectable showing against a lot of HW boxers too because again they're high end athletes relative to most guys.