Tyson Fury says defeat to Francis Ngannou is unthinkable - ‘I'm never going to be able to show my face in public’
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Updated 07/09/2023 at 22:41 GMT
Anticipation is growing ahead of the showdown between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou, as the worlds of boxing and UFC collide in Riyadh. A title may not be on the line in Saudi Arabia next month, but Fury highlighted just how much he has to lose should Ngannou claim a seemingly unlikely victory in the Middle East. But the Gypsy King remains confident, and is willing to fight Ngannou in the cage.
Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou face off during a Tyson Fury v Francis Ngannou Press Conference at HERE on September 07, 2023 in London, England.
Image credit: Getty Images
Tyson Fury says defeat to Francis Ngannou is unthinkable heading into the ‘Battle of the Baddest’ on October 28, a fight that will be shown live on TNT Sports Box Office.
Fury takes on the former UFC heavyweight champion in Riyadh, and explained the sheer scale of what he is putting on the line against Ngannou.
Defeat to an MMA fighter, regardless of his standing as a former UFC heavyweight title holder, would be seen as humiliation for the current WBC heavyweight champion.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Fury said: “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.
“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. 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% respect.”
Fury still exuded confidence in his ability to power his way past Ngannou, and would welcome the chance to take on the French-Cameroonian fighter in the cage.
“We're two champions in our prime, neither of us are coming off four losses. We're doing battle and it's going to be a good fight,” Fury added in a pre-presser interview on the red carpet.
“I'd like to fight Ngannou in the cage; I think I'd beat him for sure. He's not a good jiu-jitsu man, he's not a good wrestler. He's known for striking and I'm a better striker than him. I'd knock him out in seconds. He's more of a stand-up striker.”
For Ngannou, it is a chance to enter the world of boxing and the 37-year-old promised fans that he will hold nothing back against Fury on the night.
“I'm very excited and happy," Ngannou said. "I had a dream as a kid to become a boxer, and now I'm going to box a guy at the peak of the mountain.
“For me, usually I would not pay attention to what's going on around me, but this is so big that I can't stop thinking about it.
“History is about to be made in Riyadh on October 28. It's something that I didn't see coming, although my dream was that someday it would happen.
“It's not just going to be a fight, we're opening up Riyadh Season, so it's a cultural event that we're fighting in.
“Nobody knows exactly what's going to happen, but what I do know for sure is that I'm going to be out there hunting for this guy's head to take it off, I guarantee you that.”
How to watch Fury v Ngannou in the UK on TV
Fury v Ngannou can be watched in the UK & Ireland through BT, Virgin Media TV and Sky or online via the web or the TNT Sports Box Office App. You do not need to be a TNT Sports subscriber to buy this event.
Virgin Media TV customers in the UK: customers with a TiVo and/or V6 set-top-box should visit the On-Demand section and choose Live Events; customers with a Virgin TV360 and/or Stream set-top-box should go to the Pay Per View Live Events rail
BT TV customers can go to channel 494 and pay using their remote control.
Viewers wanting to watch the fight online should visit www.tntsports.co.uk/boxoffice and follow instructions to subscribe and watch on the web or on the TNT Sports Box Office App, customers can choose to watch on the big screen using Google Chromecast and Apple Airplay. EE, Three, Vodafone and O2 customers watching online or via the TNT Sports Box Office App can choose to add the payment to their mobile bill.
Sky customers can purchase TNT Sports Box Office on channel 490 via their remote control or via https://www.sky.com/boxoffice/tnt
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TNT Sports Box Office hosts some of the biggest fights, the biggest boxers and the best fighters from UFC and WWE. You don’t need to have a TNT Sports subscription to watch on TNT Sports Box Office.
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