WBC heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury has defended his upcoming exhibition bout with Francis Ngannou, insisting that Ngannou will punish any mistakes he makes.
The contest, held in Saudi Arabia this upcoming Saturday, has been ridiculed by many within the industry and fight fans alike. Ngannou will also be making his professional debut as a boxer when he faces Fury in the process.
Fury has also agreed to fight unified world heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk following the contest with Ngannou. No date has been announced for the undisputed encounter between Fury and Usyk, but it is speculated to be held on December 23 in Saudi Arabia.
When speaking to ESPN’s Mike Coppinger, Fury insisted that he has a more dangerous prospect in front of him in the form of Ngannou than what Usyk could ever present to him.
“A lot of people are on about this undisputed fight [against Usyk], fantastic. But I have a much more dangerous person to deal with on [October 28] than I do after for the undisputed fight, I believe,” said Fury.
“Because Francis is a bigger man, stronger, more powerful and has knockout capability. As we’ve seen with Oleksandr Usyk, he doesn’t really do much damage to people he hits. So you could probably let Usyk punch you all about the head and he’ll give you a black eye. If you let Ngannou punch you all about the head, he’s probably going to rattle your brain for you.
“He won’t do anything that I’ve not seen before. I’ve sparred with a lot of kickboxers and MMA fighters over the years. They’re all strong and tough guys, and they all can take a good beating usually.
“So I’m expecting him to be fit and strong and motivated. He’s getting an awful lot of money to be here and fight, so I’m sure he is going to have a good game plan, and I’m sure he is going to try and execute it.”
