Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury height and reach comparison: Can the former UFC fighter land on the towering 'Gypsy King'?

Francis Ngannou relinquished the UFC heavyweight title and left the organization, hoping to pursue his personal goals in combat sports. His decision was initially perceived to be a rookie mistake, but the Cameroonian got himself an excellent contract with the PFL and successfully booked a fight against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. ‘Gypsy King’ is naturally the more experienced boxer between them.

The skill gap between Fury and Ngannou is as wide as it can be. However, ‘Predator’ is a physical specimen with game-changing power. But does he have the reach and size parity to launch a meaningful offense against Fury? Let’s find out.

For the uninitiated, a boxer’s reach is the distance between the tips of his middle fingers when both arms are raised at shoulder height parallel to the ground. At 6ft-9in tall, Tyson Fury is one of the tallest active boxers in the world. An equally impressive 85-inch reach enables ‘Gypsy King’ to fight behind the jab and keep his opponents a safe distance away.

Meanwhile, Francis Ngannou is 6ft-4in tall. The 5-in difference in height does not translate into a massive reach advantage for Fury. Ngannou has a mere 2-inch reach disadvantage with an 83-inch reach.

At the level at which Fury and Ngannou are competing, the slight advantage of 2-in can also make a huge difference. However, Francis Ngannou’s striking has improved at a rapid pace over the last few years. If he adapts well to the boxing dynamics and outsmarts a defensive genius in Tyson Fury, ‘Predator’ can definitely land some punches in the ring.

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Francis Ngannou is confident that Tyson Fury will go down at some point when they fight

Francis Ngannou is well aware of the fact that Tyson Fury is probably the biggest challenge of his combat sports career. To bridge the skill gap, the Cameroonian is training under Mike Tyson. But Fury is unimpressed by Ngannou’s progress.

While speaking to TMZ Sports in an interview, Francis Ngannou stated that Fury’s remarks won’t matter when they enter the ring. He said:

“What doesn’t matter, is what he is saying. Because what matters is what’s going to happen in Saudi [Arabia]...and in Saudi, he’s going to hit the canvas. I’m gonna tell you that.”

Tyson Fury has a proven track record of bouncing back after being put down. Ngannou drew attention to this and stated:

“He’s good at coming back up. We’re going to find out how he is but he’s going to hit that canvas.”

Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou will take place on October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Fans have been unimpressed with Ngannou’s speed as seen in recent training videos. But it will be interesting to see if he comes up with a strategy to outsmart Tyson Fury.