Was this the first time in boxing history that a total newcomer to the sport had his first two fights against top five opposition? I don't remember it ever happening before, but then again I'm getting old, I forget a lot of things.
My first instinct was to say Pete Rademacher, and I was right. He fought Patterson and Folley back to back in his first two matches, and also was 0-2 for both of em, just like Ngannou.
Discounts Rademacher too then. Francis also had combat sports AND boxing experience so he wasn't a complete newcomer.
Its fiction but in Rocky Ivan Dragos record was 0-0 before the movie and during the Cold War a 0-0 Soviet fighting for the title based on amateur experience could have happened.
As a guy with no boxing rules experience ? Yeah, because Rademacher and the other mentioned had boxing experience before even if amateurish. Ngannou though, did have kickboxing experience.. so...
Ngannou trained boxing before any other martial art I think? I'm sure he boxed in his early twenties?
