Jorge Masvidal provided his in-depth analysis of Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou.
History will be made on Saturday as Fury, the WBC heavyweight boxing champion, and Ngannou, a former UFC heavyweight champion, go toe-to-toe in a ten-round boxing match in Saudi Arabia.
The public opinion on the intriguing matchup has mainly been similar to the narrative presented by the betting odds, with Fury as a clear favorite. Meanwhile, the mystique of Ngannou’s legendary power has given hope to those wanting an upset.
During an interview with ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, Jorge Masvidal was asked for his breakdown of Fury vs. Ngannou. The MMA superstar responded by saying:
“Tyson is the very best. Tyson is at the very top of the mountain that is a very tall, highly thoughted-out mountain. Everybody wants to be at the top of that mountain, and Tyson’s been there for a while. Ngannou is also the top of the mountain in MMA, but he’s going into boxing. It’s just a different world. I think he’s just gonna play with him, man. That’s what I think.”
Jorge Masvidal continued by detailing why he thinks Tyson Fury will easily defeat Francis Ngannou:
“Tyson is going to play with him. He’s gonna go in there, feint, move, just movement movement movement, lots of fakes, letting his hands go and let Ngannou come out hard and catch him later on. I always want to cheer for my MMA brothers and sisters, but this is a tall order.”
‘Gamebred’ concluded by explaining how he thinks Ngannou can pull off the historic upset:
“I love it that [Ngannou] is gambling. Nobody is picking him, but if he does, which he does have the power…Those first two or three rounds, he’s gonna be awkward to Tyson. It’s gonna be like that studying moment with Tyson. He’s like taking pictures, seeing how he moves, how he reacts to the faints. In that process, data process exchanging, Ngannou could catch him with his wildness, his athleticism.”
Jorge Masvidal teases a boxing debut in 2024
On April 8, Jorge Masvidal suffered his fourth consecutive loss when Gilbert Burns defeated him by unanimous decision at UFC 287. Shortly after the judges’ scores were announced, Masvidal removed his gloves and officially retired from MMA.
It didn’t take long for fans to wonder if and when Masvidal would fight again. When asked about a potential boxing match by Marc Raimondi, ‘Gamebred’ teased a debut in 2024:
“Yes. My yes is yes and my no is no. I’m telling you that’s a yes…I’ll tell you this much – it’s not this year…No names right now, but I can tell you that early next year, and I can tell you somebody is going to get killed.”
Jorge Masvidal will have several avenues to pursue professional boxing due to his connections with Jake Paul and his own promotion, Gamebred Boxing. It’ll be intriguing to see if Masvidal chooses to fight another MMA veteran, an influencer, or a pure boxer.
Watch Jorge Masvidal’s interview with Marc Raimondi below:
