Really, when you look back at the way Francis Ngannou closed out 2016, the clues were all in place to understand that he was A) preternaturally strong, B) insanely poised, and C) about to become the proverbial bull in the china shop at heavyweight in 2017.
On Dec. 9, Ngannou was in Albany facing Anthony Hamilton, a strong man intent on uglifying the fight to his advantage via the use of brute force. Silly idea. During a single sequence in the first round, Ngannou — already wearing the lightning rod in his hair — grabbed Hamilton’s wrist in the clinch.