Tyson Fury is the pinnacle of boxing – the grandeur of this Francis Ngannou fight proves it

Add the influential backing of His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, a genuine, knowledgeable boxing aficionado, and the event here heralds a new era in the heavyweight division, opening the six-month Riyadh Season of sport, music, entertainment and music showcasing the country’s desire to embrace a new age.

“It is absolutely unbelievable to be out here in the great Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and to be top of the bill is even more special,” explained Fury this week. Frank Warren, Fury’s UK promoter, added to that, calling it “the start of something really big here and the catalyst, as I say, is Tyson. His Excellency has been phenomenal in what he’s done. His team has got behind this and made it extra, extra special.” Bob Arum, meanwhile, Fury’s US promoter, insisted that “long after many of us have gone, people will be talking about this event.”

Fury’s public workout earlier this week showed off his desire to use speed and movement to get his arms raised in a contest in which the Briton remains an overwhelming favourite. The only caveat for Ngannou is that his own narrative arc includes an inspirational journey of survival which has taken him out of Africa – where he began in privation, digging in a sand quarry as a young person – to the pinnacle of mixed martial arts.

Ngannou – ring nickname ‘The Predator’ – has become a hero to young kids with sporting dreams across the African continent. Here, Ngannou has a moment, a slight chance, of upending history.

Dewey Cooper, Ngannou’s trainer, told me this week that his charge has adapted considerably in a 14-week training camp and ‘believes’ that he can create what would be the biggest upset in the history of heavyweight boxing, if, against the odds, his hand is raised in victory. Ngannou is huge, punches harder than any man on the planet, yet can he find the chin of Fury in his first professional boxing match? In MMA, Ngannou has knocked opponents out for fun.

The irony of Mike Tyson – whom Fury was named after – training Ngannou alongside Cooper has not been lost on the World Boxing Council heavyweight champion Fury, and indeed in conversation with Mike Tyson this week, when asked how he would have fought Fury in his own prime, Mike told me that he would have “stayed close on Fury, attacked the body, and punched upwards.”

Ngannou, different in size and speed, and fighting art of course, would like to do exactly that, but it looks an improbable difficult task. Belief is taking him into the ring, as Ngannou sees the opportunity as “a manifestation, a dream come true”.

“The power is definitely real,” Mike Tyson said of Ngannou. But how – and whether – Ngannou can execute that remains the question. I suspect that Fury might take a look at Ngannou for a couple of rounds before using his telescopic jab and movement to unpick him, before looking for right hands to end the night around the fifth round. As Fury said: “Many will imitate, but not one will ever replicate. Because there’s only one Gypsy King.”

Fury, though, must back that up in this contest, and with the Usyk fight looming on the near horizon – back here in Saudi Arabia – the reigning WBC king will want to leave the ring unscathed on his march to reclaim the three belts he took eight years ago from Wladimir Klitschko at the genesis of his own incredible journey at the top of the sport.

Fury vs Ngannou is live on TNT Box Office on Saturday October 28.