After Francis Ngannou’s spectacular performance against Tyson Fury last year, everyone thought the Anthony Joshua fight would be much bigger. However, a recent report from WON Network seems to suggest otherwise. Surprisingly, the event failed to garner a massive audience. At least in terms of US television buys. 

Back when the fight between ‘The Predator’ and ‘The Gypsy King’ was announced, a lot of boxing fans were not quite interested in watching it, claiming Fury would walk all over Ngannou. So, when Ngannou proved everyone wrong, many predicted that his second fight against Joshua would bring in significant PPV numbers. Despite that, a tweet from the director Jed I. Goodman today, sharing WON Networks comments on both fights, tells a different story. 

Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua did less than half of the Tyson Fury fight

Turning to X (formerly Twitter), Goodman wrote, “WON on the #JoshuaNgannou buys: As of press time, the number of buys on American television PPV was only 4,600. Most of the buys would have been through DAZN and not television.” In a subsequent tweet, Goodman showcased the stark difference in the numbers when compared to the Fury fight.

Goodman wrote, “WON comparing that to FuryNgannou: That number was less than half of the 11,500 television buys for Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury.” Goodman claims both of those numbers were from the first week of the fights, providing a fair comparison. 

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As surprising as it is, their fight might not have produced the best numbers. But both Ngannou and Joshua took home some fat stacks.

Estimated purse for Joshua and Ngannou

Regardless of Ngannou’s embarrassing loss, the former UFC heavyweight champion earned significantly more than the Tyson Fury fight. According to sources, Dana White had offered Ngannou $8 million for a three-fight deal before he left the UFC and entered boxing. However, Ngannou managed to make more than that against Fury alone, receiving $10 million. 

Even still, he was offered a guaranteed purse of £15.7 million plus earnings from sponsorships, pay-per-view sales, and more, according to talkSPORT. Meanwhile, Anthony Joshua towered over what Ngannou was making. As per the same reports, Joshua became £39.5 million richer by the end of the fight, that’s excluding the pay-per-view and sponsorship earnings. 

It’s unclear why the Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua fight did so badly compared to the Fury fight. However, it’s even worse for Ngannou when considering that even the Fury fight had not done well to begin with. Perhaps Francis Ngannou doesn’t have that pull with the boxing audience that many experts thought beforehand. Why do you think the fight did so badly?  

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