Fury has not fought since defending his WBC heavyweight title against Derek Chisora in a one-sided beatdown last December and is now set to take on a fighter who has never fought professionally in a boxing ring.
Ngannou, one of the most feared and powerful strikers in MMA, will fight Fury in a 10-round, non-title contest in Saudi Arabia with the WBC supporting their champion’s decision to fight the Cameroonian.
Talks for Fury to fight Oleksandr Usyk to crown an undisputed world champion fell through earlier this year with the undefeated Ukrainian set to put his IBF, WBO and WBA titles on the line against Daniel Dubois in Poland in August.
In the same month, Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte will meet in a rematch of their 2015 thriller, while Joe Joyce and Zhilei Zhang will square off for a second time in September after the Chinese heavyweight’s stunning win earlier this year.
Given the lack of available options at the top of the division and with little appetite for a fourth meeting with Deontay Wilder, former two-weight world champion Hatton believes Fury is receiving unfair criticism over his upcoming bout.
‘I think it is unfair to give him flack,’ Hatton told Metro.co.uk. ‘There is a lot of money at stake, I will always be old school in thinking fighters want to be fighting the best in the world and the best in their weight division.
‘But I think Tyson has picked the best opponent he can pick right now. Daniel Dubois is fighting Oleksandr Usyk, Anthony Joshua is fighting Dillian Whyte, Joe Joyce is fighting Zhilei Zhang. There is your top six in the world right now outside of Fury. We are not having Deontay Wilder for a fourth time, are we?
‘I don’t think there is a better opponent out there who isn’t spoken for. It is the best option for him out there. Knowing Tyson like I know him, obviously he will get a lot of money out of this but it is not all about that.
‘This is the world we live in, this is what happens in combat sport now. MMA fighters, YouTubes are involved in fights of this size. But as far as opponents out there are concerned, I don’t think there is a better fight to be made at that stage of the year.’
Hatton was speaking ahead of the launch of new boxing promotion, The Box Off. Four city-based teams will compete in a head-to-head knockout competition with Hatton, undisputed super-lightweight champion Chantelle Cameron, Tom Skinner and UK rapper Jaykae serving as team captains for Manchester, Leeds, London and Birmingham respectively.
‘Not everyone has a massive following on social media, not everyone gets a contract with Sky or BT these days, there is so much talent out there that won’t get an opportunity,’ Hatton said.
‘Fighters from grassroots level or in the early stages of their career are going to get one here. In the world we live in, kids in Manchester, Leeds, London, wherever will be thinking, “I am not going to get those opportunities”. This event, this structure gives them a huge springboard to move onto bigger and better things.
‘I started at the bottom level, I was a carpet fitter before I went professional and there are loads out there similar positions. Hopefully this opens doors.’
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