In what many have described as a betting curse, Canadian rapper and singer Drake has made another huge financial loss after betting on Francis Ngannou to beat Anthony Joshua in their last ring fight, which took place on Friday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Drake, who is known for incurring several losses to sports betting, reportedly staked $615,000—an equivalent of over 1 billion Nigerian Naira on Ngannou’s face-off with Joshua. He would have received $1.9 million, an equivalent of over 1.4 billion Nigerian Naira if the bet had won.
The hot-line bling singer has a reputation for staking high when it comes to sports betting. Last year, he reportedly placed a bet of $500,000 on Israel Adesanya, also known as “The Last Stylebender,” a mixed martial arts (MMA) artist who was eventually defeated by Sean Strickland at the UFC 293, leading to a big loss for Drake. In the same year, the rapper placed a Super Bowl bet worth nearly a million dollars on the Chiefs to prevail over the Eagles. He was reported to have staked $700,000 on the Chiefs to win outright—a bet that was expected to win him over $1.5 million and net him $777,000.
In the same season, the rapper was reported to have also placed two Chiefs first touchdown bets for $50,000, one on Patrick Mahomes and another on JuJu Smith-Schuster, alongside a $50,000 bet on the Chiefs winning both halves and a $30,000 bet on Kansas City winning each quarter. He went on to still bet $60,000 on a tight end to win Super Bowl MVP and another $25,000 on Travis Kelce to earn MVP honors. But these were not all as successful as expected.
In 2022, Drake lost a staggering $430,000 on UFC bets, staking $200,000 on Kamaru Usman to defeat Leon Edwards and $230,000 on Jose Aldo to beat Merab Dvalishvili; however, both attempts went against him.
Due to his consistent losses to sports betting, netizens have coined the infamous phrase “Drake’s betting curse,” depicting his unfortunate reality and suggesting that teams or athletes he supports tend to lose. Perhaps this is why Ngannou was also knocked out. That is if their assertion is true.
Anthony Joshua reportedly knocked Francis Ngannou out cold in the second round of their main event showdown on Friday night. This was as the former heavyweight champion, Joshua, gave his opponent a feel of his right-hand punch amidst some “not-so-hefty” jabs from the latter, having knocked him down once in the first round and twice in the second round.
The ease with which the Nigerian-British boxer knocked out his opponent has raised questions as to whether Francis Ngannou will continue his boxing career or if it is over for him. Recall that just last night, AJ, in a close-range conversation, advised him never to quit boxing.
Hopes had been high on the Cameroonian former UFC champion and world’s best MMA artist attaining unbeatable heights in his newly found boxing career, especially after Ngannou gave WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury the biggest shock of his life, dropping him during the third round of an underdog’s boxing debut, which was held at the Boulevard Hall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in October 2023.
Ngannou has since striven to maintain his relevance in the ring. It would have been a springboard for his boxing career if he managed to knock out the former heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, who was stunned by the current title holder, Oleksandr Usyk, to win WBA, IBF, and WBO world heavyweight titles. Joshua will now keep a close eye on the upcoming fight between Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, with hopes that he might get the winner before the year is over.
