Undefeated heavyweight Tyson Fury is no stranger to the limelight. The Gypsy King has been known for his quick wit and often outrageous antics.
Most recently he had a stint with the WWE and wrestled Braun Strowman at the Crown Jewel 2019 event in Saudi Arabia and after beating Strowman, Fury said he would think about doing pro wrestling full time.
During an NFL in London sideline interview segment on Sky Sports he told the interviewer that he would like to fight in mixed martial arts and would reach out to Irish superstar and former two division UFC champion Conor McGregor to help prepare him for his MMA debut.
All of these spontaneous and random moments are vintage Tyson Fury, he likes keeping people guessing on what he will say or do next.
When word spread about Fury saying he was going to MMA, a few of the UFC heavyweights issued challenges and would be willing to welcome him to the Octagon for his debut.
One of the fighters was the hardest hitting heavyweight in UFC history Francis Ngannou, but unlike the other MMA stars he challenged Fury to a boxing match not an MMA fight.
The Cameroonian-French heavyweight contender grew up first training in boxing before transferring to MMA. His dream was to become a heavyweight boxing champion, but MMA was a faster route to financial security for him.
With the huge crossover boxing match between undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and UFC star Conor McGregor doing well over 4 million Pay-Per-View buys and generating millions, more and more MMA stars have been willing to crossover to boxing for the massive payday.
Ngannou was doing the Hot Boxin’ podcast with Mike Tyson and tweeted a call out and boxing fight challenge to Tyson Fury that read:
Spoke with Mike Tyson and he agreed to train me for when I fight @Tyson_Fury in the Ring. Don’t be scared Fury. You called me out and now you’ll have to live with it. #WakandaForever #UNCROWNEDKING 2:14 PM – 6 Nov 2019
Shortly after the tweet was sent out, Tyson Fury responded with his official Twitter account:
Ill deal with you and all the other Mma heavyweights when I’m done with my boxing fights,
It won’t be long to wait! Then I’ll show u how we roll.👍🏻🙏🏻
3:21 PM – 6 Nov 2019
Ngannou not one to back down replied back to Fury with this Tweet:
You don’t have to worry about other “Mma Heavyweights” because I might just retire you. Tell you promoter to call @ufc #uncrowndedchamp 6:02 PM – 6 Nov 2019
A Fury vs Ngannou boxing match would be a spectacle but it wouldn’t generate the type of financial numbers a Fury vs. Deontay Wilder rematch would.
A more interesting boxing match would be Francis Ngannou vs. Deontay Wilder, the two hardest hitting punchers in their respective sport going toe to toe. It would be a fight that would be marketable because casual fans like knockouts and that fight would likely end in a KO.
