Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou came face-to-face at the conclusion of their kickoff press conference earlier today in London, staged in advance of their upcoming heavyweight boxing super fight scheduled for Sat., Oct. 28, 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Watch the press conference video replay here.
“I only trained six weeks for Deontay Wilder, I’m training 12 weeks for Francis. I need to be on my A-game, because there’s more on the line now than a boxing fight,” Fury said (transcribed by James Hilsum). “If I lose to a No. 1 contender or another champion, then people would say, oh: ‘he lost to another champion.’ But if I lost to an MMA guy, I’m never going to be able to show my face in public again. There’s going to be ridicule and people are going to chuck it in my face forever.”
“There’s more riding on this than there ever has been before,” Fury continued. “Whether the media wants to take it as a joke or not, make no mistake, Tyson Fury will leave no stone unturned and I will come in at my fittest and strongest I’ve ever been to beat this man. If I’m not, and I get knocked out, I want you all to laugh at me. That’s what I want, because I would’ve deserved it. The man’s a machine and I’ll give 100-percent respect.”
Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) has put together a remarkable career that includes his continued reign as WBC heavyweight champion. “The Gypsy King” was last seen finishing longtime rival Derek Chisora late last year in London.
Ngannou, two years older than Fury at 37, vacated his UFC heavyweight title earlier this year and signed with rival promotion PFL MMA, a deal that allows “The Predator” to box between fights. That said, his “Smart Cage” debut is not expected until early 2024.
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