"A college student against a kindergartener" - Heavyweight boxer, who almost fought Tyson Fury, weighs in on Francis Ngannou bout 

While Tyson Fury is now scheduled to face off with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in a boxing match on October 28, this wasn't always the case. At one point, 'The Gypsy King' was on a collision course with Chinese titan Zhilei Zhang.

Unfortunately, the bout was never finalized, as Joe Joyce, an opponent of Zhilei Zhang, activated his rematch clause after losing to the Chinese giant via sixth-round TKO. The forced rematch robbed Zhang of what would have been the biggest fight of his career: an opportunity that is now Francis Ngannou's.

However, Zhang recently expressed severe doubts that 'The Predator' will find even the slightest measure of success in the latter's upcoming boxing match with Fury. While few see a path to victory for Ngannou, Zhang has even dismissed the puncher's chance some believe Ngannou will have.

In an interview with BoxingScene.com, the WBO interim heavyweight champion spoke about the massive gap in skill and experience between Tyson Fury and the former UFC heavyweight:

"Ngannou doesn't even have a puncher's stance. It's a college student versus a kindergartner."

Despite his harsh dismissal of Ngannou's skills, which Eddie Hearn agrees with, Zhang claimed to understand why Tyson Fury would take such a mismatch, citing the lucrative pay to take on an opponent of such inferior skill that there's almost no danger of losing. Zhang, however, is still aiming to face Fury.

He believes that if he can overcome Joe Joyce as he has before, he will earn another crack at Fury.

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How many times did Tyson Fury fight Deontay Wilder?

Francis Ngannou isn't the only terrifying power-puncher that Tyson Fury will have faced come October 28. 'The Gypsy King' famously fought Deontay Wilder in three different fights. The first bout was a controversial draw, with Fury outboxing Wilder for most of it and Wilder scoring two massive knockdowns.

Their second fight saw Fury emerge victorious with a seventh-round TKO, but Wilder refused to accept the loss and made several excuses to explain away his performance. Finally, a third fight was booked, and Fury won via 11th-round KO.