Tyson Fury v Francis Ngannou: Battle of the Baddest – live

Hello and welcome to Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena for tonight’s crossover match between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou. It’s been billed as the Battle of the Baddest: a scheduled 10-round boxing match between the finest heavyweight boxer of his generation, unbeaten in 34 paying fights, against a former UFC champion with no professional boxing experience who hasn’t fought in nearly two years. It doesn’t take an expert to know how this one will play out.

But we groundlings love a sideshow and always have, making us susceptible to promotional stunts like these for as as long as anyone can remember. There was Ali’s risible fight with the Japanese pro wrestler Antonio Inoki in 1976, widely regarded as the most embarrassing moment of the Greatest’s career. There were Jesse Owens’ lamentable match races against thoroughbred horses, a humiliating comedown for the Olympic hero who had stared down Hitler in Berlin. There was the much-ballyhooed 150m race between Donovan Bailey and Michael Johnson at Toronto’s SkyDome to determine the title of world’s fastest man. And, of course, Floyd Maywether v Conor McGregor, perhaps the closest analogue to the mundanity afoot.

Contrary to early reports, tonight’s fight is not an exhibition and will count as an official bout. However, Fury’s WBC heavyweight title will not be on the line.

“I need to be on my ‘A’ game because there’s more on the line now than a boxing fight,” Fury said. “If I lost to an MMA guy, I’m never going to be able to show my face in public again. There’s going to be ridicule and people are going to chuck it in my face forever. There’s more riding on this than there ever has been before.”

We’re around an hour from the main event ringwalks. Plenty to come between now and then.