Tyson Fury was full of confidence as he weighed in against Francis Ngannou ahead of their boxing match in Saudi Arabia. “It’s like a table tennis champion facing Djokovic in the Wimbledon final — totally different,” Fury said dismissively of the MMA star, who is making his boxing debut. Both fighters made weight, with Fury coming up a little over 5 lbs more than Ngannou. There was a flicker of confrontation as Ngannou bumped chests with Fury after the British boxer put his forehead against the Cameroonian's.
However, Ngannou was unfazed by Fury's behavior. “I have played this game so long. This can’t get to me. It’s part of the game. We’re going to take a couple of minutes at the beginning, but I think this fight will end very quick," the PFL star claimed. Both men are set to make bank from the fight, with Fury's purse reportedly hitting $50 million.
Fury Eyes Usyk
However, the fight is little more than a warm-up for the main event in the eyes of Fury. Last month, sources told ESPN that Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk had signed fight contracts for this winter. The fight, scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia, will be the first undisputed heavyweight fight in boxing's four-belt era. While a date has not been confirmed, the fight will take place on December 23 or in early January. The details will be further set after Fury fights Ngannou. At the Ngannou weigh-in, Fury said he would take a week to recover before discussing the Usyk fight. Fury currently holds the WBC belt while Usyk holds the WBA, IBF, and WBO belts.
The fight is a renewal of a proposal from earlier this year. Fury and Usyk were originally scheduled for April of this year, with a fight slated for London's Wembley Stadium. However, the fight fell through at the last moment. Instead, Uysk fulfilled his mandatory WBA defense against Daniel Dubois in an August fight in Poland. Meanwhile, Fury has not fought since beating Derek Chisora last December.
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