Fury, Ngannou in tough exchange ahead of ‘Battle of the Baddest’ fight

WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and former UFC champion Francis Ngannou attended a press conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Thursday, ahead of their ‘Battle of the Baddest’ bout.

Fury revealed he’s hoping for “a challenge” against the 37-year-old, and will be “disappointed” if he’s not tested by Ngannou.

“Bring it on. I’m being really honest with you guys, like, I’ve trained for a 12-round war, and if it’s anything less then it’s going to be an early night. And I’ve been hit by the biggest punchers that’s ever graced the face of the earth and I’m still undefeated, I’m still standing, I’m still number one. So, we’re gonna see what Francis has got inside of him. We’re gonna see if he’s got the guts to stand and trade with a heavyweight champion of the world. We’re gonna see if he’s got the belief in his power. And I’m not convinced. I wasn’t convinced with Deontay Wilder’s power until he knocked me down with it about 14 times, and now I’m convinced. But yeah, we’ll see on Saturday night,” said Fury. 

‘The Gypsy King’, who’s WBC title will not be on the line when they enter the ring at Boulevard Hall on Saturday evening, is favourite to defeat the Cameroon former MMA fighter who is taking part in his first boxing contest.

“Having somebody like Mike Tyson around, even my coach here, Dewey Cooper, that was very helpful in terms of like approaching this fight. You know, when you have something like this, when you have to take a tree down, you find better axes for it. You know, some tree need more, biggest axes and that’s why we get Mike Tyson in. And the first thing that Mike Tyson said to me that stuck in my mind is like, listen, he has two hands and two feet like you. And I’m like, okay, that’s noted. I get that, you know? I think that’s enough for Saturday night. Tyson is definitely the best in boxing, but that’s stopping on Saturday night,” Ngannou said. 

The British heavyweight said he has agreed a unification fight against Oleksandr Usyk which is reportedly set to take place in December or January.