25 October 2023 , 11:20
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Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury has shown off his vain side by stating he sees an "absolute genius" when looking in the mirror.
Fury returns to the ring on Saturday as he fights former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ngannou will be making his boxing debut on the night but he is no stranger to the sport, originally having dreams of becoming a boxer before he was convinced to make an MMA switch upon the advice of his first coach.
Having pondered retirement on several occasions during his accomplished career, Fury returned to boxing last December for a largely unwanted trilogy fight against Derek Chisora. Fast forward 10 months and he is set to go 10 rounds with knockout artist Ngannou in a crossover clash that has divided opinions in the boxing world, but Fury has labelled himself a genius for the decision.
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“I just sometimes look in the mirror and think I’m an absolute genius,” Fury said during the grand arrivals on Tuesday. "When everyone thought it was all over for The Gypsy King, he comes and totally redeems himself and pulls this out the hat and here we are. It’s like unbelievable, isn’t it?
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"Just only six months ago I didn’t even know if I was ever gonna box again and then, here we go. Never mind just doing a fight with Ngannou. I’ve got another big fight lined up and so much more to come, so many more big things in the hat. So, Houdini." Ngannou holds an impressive record for the hardest punch ever recorded but Fury has questioned the feat whilst promising to stand and trade with the hard-hitting Cameroonian.
"Behave yourself, I can stand and trade with anybody. I stood and traded with Wladimir [Klitschko] and [Deontay] Wilder. I've not had a go at punching so he won't beat me. I have beat the actually biggest puncher in boxing and knocked him out, so until he beats me he can only ever dream about that record. The biggest puncher in combat sports is me."
Fury has already agreed to fight fellow heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk as they could meet in less than two months, but he insisted the undisputed fight is not on his mind. “I’m not thinking about it. I’m just saying it’s facts, but I’m not thinking about it. I’ve got this big sausage to deal with and once I’ve grilled him up nice and good, then we’ll go on to the next one," he added.