WBC heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury has vowed to stand and trade with Frnacis Nagnnou this upcoming weekend in Saudi Arabia.
Fury makes a long-awaited return to action following the mismatch of his WBC title against Derek Chisora in December of last year, securing a tenth-round stoppage in London.
Despite Fury’s contest with Ngannou serving as nothing more than a marketing, financial and public relations exercise for Fury, Ngannou and the Saudi state, grotesquely, the contest has gained traction with expressed interest regarding the headline act of Fury-Ngannou.
Fury is a huge betting favourite to win the contest this weekend, as he should be purely down to the fact he is firstly the WBC heavyweight champion, a career-length boxer and that Ngannou is making his professional debut in the sport of boxing.
It should be a one-sided procession on paper; however, last week, promoter Bob Arum did warn Fury of the dangers that could lay in wait for him if Ngannou caught him.
Ngannou, a former UFC heavyweight champion, is renowned for his striking skillset and is even officially listed as the world’s hardest puncher according to the Guinness Book of Records.
Fury, however has survived the punches of the hardest-hitting heavyweight in modern times, Deontay Wilder, on three occasions. Speaking to Queensberry Promotions (Fury’s UK promoter), Fury believes that he has nothing to fear, citing his experiences against Wilder and knowing he can trade with hard-hitting punchers.
“I can stand and trade with anybody. I stood and traded with Wilder. I stood and traded with Wladimir [Klitschko]. I’ll stand and trade with this little bitch.”
Sahni reminded Fury that Cameroon’s Ngannou is in the Guinness Book of World Records for having thrown the hardest punch.
“Says who?” Fury replied. “Well, I’ve not had a go at punching, so he ain’t beat me. I have beat the actual biggest puncher in boxing and knocked him out. So yeah, until he beats me, he can only ever dream about that record. The biggest puncher in combat sports – me.”
Fury continued speaking to Shani and said that it is entirely up to him (Fury) how he wishes to let this fight play out, suggesting that he could drag the fight out in length to display ‘a slick master boxing performance.’
“Well, I might give ‘em a knockout, or I might give them a slick master boxing performance, not let the ugly man touch me once,” Fury said. “That’d be unbelievable, wouldn’t it? Come on, start dancing, tripling the jab like Apollo Creed, sticking and move, Rocky, sticking and move. Bums brawl, don’t they? You can go to a pub and see two big lumps knocking [the stuffing] out of each other. But what I can do is only a gift from God. Not very many people can do what I can do, twist and move, bend, triple the jab, follow four right hands behind it, slip and counter with me hands down. It’s like a unique gift.”
