30 October 2023 , 12:27
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Francis Ngannou has admitted that he feared he could "embarrass himself" in his massive crossover boxing match with Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia last weekend.
The former UFC heavyweight champion had spent almost two years out of action heading into his boxing debut against world heavyweight champion Fury. But he gave the performance of his life, winning rounds and even dropping the boxer, with many viewers feeling he was "robbed" of the split decision, which went Fury's way.
Ngannou feels that he did enough to win the fight, and has explained that he is leaving Saudi Arabia disappointed despite an impressive showing in the bout. He also noted that nerves did play a big factor, explaining how such a massive stage can't be just chalked down as "any other fight."
"You will try to convince yourself that it's just another fight," Ngannou explained to fans in a video on his YouTube channel. "But it wasn't just another fight, it's a different sport. If I was doing MMA then maybe I would say it was just another fight but the fight was so big and it was a different fight."
Ngannou noted that the event was so much bigger than anything he had fought in before, even as a pay-per-view headliner on multiple occasions in the UFC. Saudi officials spent tens of millions to put on a massive opening ceremony and luxurious fight week, which featured countless A-List celebrities and fighting legends.
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"So it was even harder because the magnitude of this fight and the promotion of this fight and everything," he continued. "Then it's a different fight and a sport where I don't even have that feeling. I don't know the temperature of this water, I have to test it.
"And I'm like 'oh man, I hope I won't be surprised, I hope I won't embarrass myself here with all this promotion'. Sometimes you kind of wished that you could just fight in the parking lot where no one will see so that you don't embarrass yourself. I'm like 'oh, I don't know about this'.
"But you're a competitor, you have to go out there and perform so you know that if you let it go it won't be so bad so trying to convince yourself by your training. Just think about your training, if you've done everything right and then yes, you've done everything right so it should really be okay."