Tyson Fury admits he fears endless ridicule if he loses to Francis Ngannou

03 October 2023 , 14:49

881     0

Tyson Fury admits he fears endless ridicule if he loses to Francis Ngannou

Tyson Fury has admitted that he fears he could face relentless ridicule if he loses to Francis Ngannou in their crossover super-fight later this month.

The world heavyweight champion faces off with his MMA counterpart on October 28, and has already put pen to paper on a deal to fight Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed title as soon as eight weeks later. However, he faces a very stern test in Ngannou, who is believed to be the world's biggest puncher.

And speaking with football legend Rio Ferdinand, he joked that it would be a massive upset that would lead to him constantly being mocked if he were to lose the fight. He even compared the potential result to Manchester United's 7-0 loss against Liverpool back in March.

"The biggest risk of all is, fighting a MMA fighter and I'm the world heavyweight champion," Fury told Ferdinand for his TNT Sport series Rio Meets. "So what happens if he beats me? Ridiculed. It would be like getting beat by Liverpool for Manchester United, 7-0, wouldn't it? How do you come back from that?"

Fury did note, however, that Ngannou's size and fearsome punching power would make him a difficult test on the night when they meet in Saudi Arabia. However, he can't be too concerned as just weeks after the interview took place, he announced that he will be facing Usyk in the near future, signing a contract for a date before the end of Riyadh season in March.

Rio Ferdinand delivers verdict on Marcel Sabitzer transfer with no hesitation

Do you believe Francis Ngannou has a shot at knocking out Tyson Fury? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!

"All of these opponents I face, they are all risky fights, or are all big men - like anyone over 14 stone is a big man. All of these guys are big lumps and when I fight them the risk is always the same, they've got a puncher's chance. But I never leave a stone unturned. That's one thing I do.

"I always do everything I can in my power to be successful. The way I look at it is, if this guy is going to beat me then fair play to him I will shake his hand, he must be a good fighter because I'm no easy man to beat as I've shown over the years. So if I can bump into somebody that can beat me, I would say "fantastic, fair play to you, well done," take them for a beer and that's it."

Donagh Corby