Tyson Fury and former MMA champ Francis Ngannou set to clash on Oct. 28th in Saudi Arabia
Undefeated heavyweight and former Ring heavyweight champion of the world Tyson Fury will take on former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in a boxing match on Saturday, October 28th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The clash to find out who is the “Baddest Man on the Planet” will take place under the official rules of professional boxing, with 3 judges ringside adopting the 10-point must system.
An agreement has been reached with Queensberry, Top Rank and Ngannou’s promotional banner, GIMIK Fight Promotions, to partner with Riyadh Season to host the history-making event that will capture the imagination of fight fans around the globe.
“As soon as that bell goes, it’ll be bombs away!,” said Fury. “This guy is supposed to be the hardest puncher in the world, but let’s see how he reacts when he gets hit by the Big GK. I can’t wait to get back out there under the lights. I’m looking forward to showing the world that The Gypsy King is the greatest fighter of his generation in an epic battle with another master of his craft. Francis looked tough when he jumped in the ring after the Whyte fight, but there is no one tougher than me, and you’ll all see that in devastating fashion on October 28. I’d like to thank my promoters Frank Warren and Bob Arum, my manager Spencer Brown, and the guys at Riyadh Season for making this incredible event possible. It’s going to be a fight for the ages. Get up!”
Tyson Fury in the ring before the vacant WBO Interim World Heavyweight Championship contest between Joe Joyce and Joseph Parker at the AO Arena, Manchester. Picture date: Saturday September 24, 2022. (Photo by Ian Hodgson/PA Images via Getty Images)
“I’ve been waiting to meet Tyson in the ring for the past three years,” said Ngannou. “My dream was always to box, and to box the best. After becoming the undisputed MMA heavyweight champion, this is my opportunity to make that dream come true and cement my position as the baddest man on the planet. I’d like to thank Riyadh Season and my team at 3Point0 Labs for helping put this event together. All I will say to Tyson for now is he better dance in that ring because if I touch him, he’s going to sleep.”
The undefeated Fury, 34, the 6-foot-9 self-styled Gypsy King with a record of 33-0-1 (24 KOs), first became unified world heavyweight champion back in November 2015 when he toppled long-standing champ Wladimir Klitschko in Dusseldorf, Germany.
After a lengthy period out of the ring, Fury teamed up with Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren to plot his route back to heavyweight domination and, after just two return fights, he accepted the challenge of taking on the previous WBC champion Deontay Wilder, in December 2018.
The outcome was a hotly disputed draw, which ensured the Fury-Wilder chapter still had a couple more pages to run. Fury linked up with Top Rank and ESPN in America, and a rematch with Wilder took place in February 2020. Fury took many experts by surprise by stating his intention to meet the ferocious hitter in the centre of the ring.
To that end, he teamed up with old comrade SugarHill Steward in order to maximise his own offensive weapons. True to his word, Fury rocked Wilder and put him down in the third and fifth before the towel came in from Wilder’s corner just over halfway through the seventh.
An absolute thriller took place in October 2021 in Las Vegas. Fury picked up where he left off and put Wilder to the canvas in the third before a spirited revival from the ‘Bronze Bomber’ saw Fury down twice in the fourth. The champion prevailed convincingly in the end, with Wilder down the 10th and then out for count in the 11th. An epic trilogy had played out before the eyes of the world.
London was calling when a mandatory defence against WBC interim champion Dillian Whyte was called by the governing body. There was only one place fit to stage the homecoming of The Gypsy King and a packed to the rafters Wembley Stadium became Fury’s field of dreams. Wembley is traditionally known as the ‘Home of Legends’ and Fury added his name to the illustrious list with a spectacular sixth-round stoppage in front of 94,000 spectators.
Fury sold out another stadium last December, this time Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with 60,000 people braving the night air to see him overwhelm Derek Chisora for a third time via a 10th-round stoppage in what represented a third defence of his WBC world championship.
Ngannou, 36, 17-3 (12 KOs) is an imposing 6’4, 280-pound physical specimen hailing from Batie, a small village in Cameroon, Africa. He grew up working in a sand quarry starting from the age of 10. At 22 years old, harbouring a dream to box, Francis decided to leave on foot across the Sahara, traveling on raft across the Strait of Gibraltar on a life-threatening journey, only to find himself homeless on the streets of Paris, walking into a gym. It didn’t take long for his coaches and peers there to realize his raw talents and God-given power to knock people out.
He was encouraged to enter an MMA tournament to make some extra cash in November 2013, and less than 8 years later, Francis would become the UFC’s first-ever African heavyweight champion, knocking out arguably the greatest heavyweight in UFC History, Stipe Miocic, in the second round. In January 2022, Ngannou defended his title against the undefeated interim UFC Champion Ciryl Gane, winning the fight via unanimous decision, all while fighting on a torn ACL and MCL against doctors’ guidance.
In late 2022, Ngannou decided to enter free agency and departed the UFC following the end of his contract, subsequently signing an unprecedented mega-deal as a global strategic partner with global MMA co-leader Professional Fighters League (PFL) and their Super Fights Division in 2023, further serving as the Chairman of PFL Africa, set to launch in 2025.
A press release by Queensberry Promotions and Top Tank was used in this article.
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