Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou has nothing on time NBA legend brawled with world boxing champion
Boxing has played host to some bizarre match ups, but few more-so than Oscar De La Hoya vs Shaquille O'Neal.
We have seen social media stars go at it and crossover bouts between MMA fighters and boxers, such as Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor, or Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou, which will take place on Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
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But, even these seem to make more sense than when Basketball legend O'Neal and former six-weight world champion De La Hoya clashed in the ring.
O'Neal, 7ft 1in, stands over a foot taller than De La Hoya, 5ft 10in, who could barely reach his opponent's head during the contest and this translated to a significant weight advantage for the basketball player on fight night.
The pair went head-to-head as part of a 'Shaq vs' series in 2009 that also saw the American fight three-weight world champion Shane Mosley a year later.
During the fight, De La Hoya darted around the ring, landing quick combinations and then quickly getting out the way of his gigantic opponent.
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With that being said, O'Neal - an avid follower of combat sports who trains in MMA gyms - looked surprisingly comfortable in the boxing ring, moving around well and he even did a little bit of showboating at times.
To add to the chaos, as the fight came to a close, former undisputed middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins hopped into the ring and jokingly jumped on O'Neal's back, but even that was not enough to take the huge man down.
At the end of the bout, it was announced that De La Hoya had won the fight on points.
Although O'Neal later admitted in an interview he held back against De La Hoya because he considers him a friend.
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But, there won't be any holding back on Saturday night as boxing's latest bizarre chapter unfolds between Fury and Ngannou, who has been training with Mike Tyson.
'The Gypsy King' has promised a knockout within the first six rounds, while Ngannou has insisted he is coming to cause an upset.
Not many give the former UFC champion a hope, but he will know that the power he possesses in his fists could count for something.
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