Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury returns to the ring for the first time in nearly a year Saturday when he faces former UFC heavyweight king Francis Ngannou in a 10-round boxing main event. Their showdown tops the main Fury vs. Ngannou fight card (2 p.m. ET) from Riyadh Arena in Saudi Arabia. This is likely the most anticipated fight in the boxing versus mixed martial arts crossover craze since Floyd Mayweather boxed Conor McGregor in August 2017 because of the high profile of both combatants. Ngannou was widely considered the heaviest puncher to ever set foot in the Octagon and his highlight-reel knockouts made even accomplished UFC contenders turn away from signing a contract to fight him. Fury is generally regarded as the greatest heavyweight boxer of this generation, though a relatively meager slate of opponents has been the one blemish on his profile.
Fury is a -1,400 betting favorite (risk $1,400 to win $100), while Ngannou is priced at +750 in the latest Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou odds. The over/under for total rounds finished is 4.5, with the Under priced at -130 and the Over listed at +100. Before locking in any Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury picks, make sure you see the boxing predictions and betting advice from SportsLine expert Peter Kahn.
Kahn is a true boxing insider who has his finger on the pulse of what’s going on inside and outside of the ring. He has managed numerous world champions and currently manages 20 fighters through his company, Fight Game Advisors. Kahn won the 2022 Boxing Writers Association of America Cus D’Amato Manager of the Year award and was named to the 2023 Florida Boxing Hall of Fame.
Kahn is uncanny when it comes to picking fights. He is an astounding 44-13 on his last 57 SportsLine boxing picks, returning nearly $4,000 to $100 bettors. Anyone who has followed him has already seen massive returns.
Now, with Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou approaching, Kahn has studied the matchup from every angle and released confident selections for the fight. You can only see his picks and analysis at SportsLine.
Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou preview
Ngannou (17-3 MMA) makes his return to combat sports following a 22-month hiatus and amid his acrimonious split from the UFC. He was once on track to be perhaps one of the biggest stars in the history of the promotion and, while he did eventually become the heavyweight champion, his trajectory toward superstardom got derailed both in and out of the cage.
First, he suffered an upset loss to Stipe Miocic in January 2018 in his first title challenge and squandered even more momentum with a dull decision loss to veteran contender Derrick Lewis in his next fight. He eventually won a rematch with Miocic in March 2021, but by then both the hype surrounding his novelty had subsided and his relationship with UFC president Dana White had deteriorated.
The Cameroon-born fighter publicly expressed his displeasure with his UFC fight purses and White, who is notoriously sensitive to such criticism from active fighters, turned on Ngannou and began to publicly downplay the heavyweight champion’s accomplishments.
Following a lackluster decision win over Cyril Gane in his last UFC appearance, Ngannou and the UFC agreed to part ways, and the fighter openly campaigned for lucrative opportunities in other promotions.
He found one in a boxing match with Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs), who has long maintained that he isn’t a huge fan of the crossover boxing craze but has repeatedly asserted he would box Ngannou out of respect for the MMA champion’s career accomplishments and to help him secure a deserved payday.
Although a unification heavyweight with three-belt holder Oleksandr Usyk appears to be next in line for Fury, Saturday’s matchup is generating more public interest than his two most recent bouts. Last year he dispatched journeymen Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora, somehow agreeing to fight Chisora a third time after handily defeating him twice previously. See who to back at SportsLine.
How to make Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou picks
We can share that Kahn likes the fight to go Over 4.5 rounds. He’s also made the call on a method-of-victory prop and a confident money-line pick. You can only see his picks at SportsLine.
Who wins Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury, and which prop is a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see Peter Kahn’s best bets for Saturday, all from the boxing specialist who has netted his followers a profit of nearly $4,000, and find out.
