Tyson Fury: WBC heavyweight champion to face MMA star Francis Ngannou

Tyson Fury's combat with Francis Ngannou volition not number towards his pro record

Heavyweight satellite champion Tyson Fury volition look MMA combatant Francis Ngannou connected 28 October successful Saudi Arabia.

Team Fury accidental the combat is not an accumulation and volition "take spot nether the authoritative rules of nonrecreational boxing, with 3 judges ringside adopting the 10-point indispensable system".

Fury volition not beryllium defending his WBC title.

"This feline is expected to beryllium the hardest puncher successful the world, but let's spot however helium reacts erstwhile helium gets deed by the Big GK," Fury said, referring to his 'Gypsy King' nickname.

Ngannou said it was a imagination travel existent to container Fury.

"I've been waiting to conscionable Tyson successful the ringing for the past 3 years," helium said.

"All I volition accidental to Tyson for present is helium amended creation successful that ringing due to the fact that if I interaction him, he's going to sleep."

Fury has gone with a left-field enactment aft failing to travel to presumption with Oleksandr Usyk implicit an undisputed combat earlier this year.

Fury's co-promoter Frank Warren besides suggested that combat is improbable to hap successful 2023 aft Usyk signed with Saudi Arabia's Skill Challenge Promotions.

"They're saying that volition beryllium successful February adjacent year," Warren said of Team Usyk.

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"If everyone were to beryllium astir waiting for them we'd person a problem. We're not sitting about, we're getting connected with it."

Ukrainian Usyk is acceptable to support his titles against his WBA mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois successful August and had hoped to combat Fury successful December.

Fury has faced disapproval for failing to scope presumption with Usyk and his prime of opponent, but Warren said the 34-year-old was not avoiding immoderate fighter.

"For anyone to speech astir Tyson ducking anyone is perfectly beyond ridiculous," Warren said.

"Because he's the champion heavyweight of his generation. None of them, and I correspond interim champions and those warring for satellite titles... Tyson is the champion of his procreation astatine this infinitesimal successful time."

Can Ngannou marque the boxing transition?

Ngannou has 17 wins and conscionable 3 losses successful his MMA career

Ngannou held ambitions of being a boxer aboriginal successful his vocation earlier focusing his afloat attraction connected MMA.

"This is my accidental to marque that imagination travel existent and cement my presumption arsenic the baddest antheral connected the planet," helium said.

The Cameroonian-French combatant was an instant occurrence successful the UFC owed to his ferocious knockout quality and became the heavyweight champion successful 2021.

Ngannou defended his rubric erstwhile successful January 2022 but left the UFC this twelvemonth amid a deterioration of his narration with the MMA promotion and its president Dana White.

The PFL announced successful May that Ngannou had signed a woody with them, but that statement lone covers MMA and does not forestall Ngannou from competing successful boxing.

While Ngannou has nary nonrecreational boxing background, his MMA grounds shows 17 wins successful 20 fights, with 12 knockouts.

Ngannou has said helium wants to vie successful some codes, which has proven a gangly inquire for seasoned MMA fighters successful the past.

Conor McGregor, Tyron Woodley and Anderson Silva person each struggled to set to the demands of boxing.

But Holly Holm successfully competed successful some sports, winning aggregate satellite championships successful boxing and becoming bantamweight champion successful the UFC.