27 October 2023 , 11:10
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Tyson Fury finally got Francis Ngannou to go topless as the pair had a hilarious staredown before their crossover fight.
Heavyweight champion Fury has been goading Ngannou about his body all week in the lead-up to their fight in Riyadh on Saturday night. Ngannou is making his boxing debut on the night after vacating his UFC heavyweight title in January and subsequently parting ways with the promotion.
The hard-hitting Cameroonian has arguably one of the best physiques in all of the combat sports, but Fury has insisted his rival looks like a "fat sausage" heading into their fight. Ngannou refused to go shirtless for his open workout but did take his suit jacket off for a face-off with Fury after their press conference, much to the joy of 'The Gypsy King'.
"Take it off Francis, get it off! Whoa, he's in shape! The man is in shape," Fury said whilst being in awe of Ngannou's physique. Fury's dad John then bizarrely tried to get involved in the face-off by taking his own t-shirt off and staring off with Ngannou, with security members on their stage doing their best to pull the 59-year-old away.
Ngannou expects to step on the scale at around 270lb for the fight, which would be slightly heavier than the limit for his days as a UFC heavyweight. Fury came in at 268lb for his unwanted trilogy fight against Derek Chisora last December, which was almost 10lb less than his career-heaviest weight for when he fought Deontay Wilder for the final time.
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Boxing legend Mike Tyson, who is coaching Ngannou for the fight, wasn't too confident at first but changed his opinion on the MMA star after watching him spar. "When this first came to me I said there is no way this is gonna happen and then I watched him spar. I thought it was ridiculous too until I saw him spar, he hit a guy on the chin and he broke his ankle or leg. Listen, man, if he can do that it is possible he can be the heavyweight champion of the world. The power is definitely real," he said.
John refuted Tyson's backing of Ngannou by telling him: "Let me tell you my brother, the world is gonna see what is going to happen to your man. He will get his head boxed off and stopped at will my pal, don't worry about that. If I'm wrong, me and you will fight straight after. Me and the great Mike."