02 February 2024 , 19:18
746
0
Francis Ngannou has suggested his upcoming fight with Anthony Joshua should be for the undisputed heavyweight world title after Tyson Fury pulled out of his unification bout with Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury was due to fight Usyk on February 17, but the clash has been postponed after the Gypsy King suffered a cut above his right eye in training. Fury has insisted the fight will be rescheduled at a later date, stating: "I am absolutely devastated after preparing for this fight for so long and being in such superb condition.
"feel bad for everyone involved in this huge event and I will work diligently towards the rescheduled date once the eye has healed. I can only apologise to everyone affected including my own team, Team Usyk, the undercard fighters, partners, and fans as well as our hosts and my friends in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."
However, former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou has cheekily proposed making his March 8 fight against Joshua for the undisputed title. Ngannou suffered a controversial split decision loss to Fury last year despite scoring a knockdown and he is now set to fight former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua next month.
Reacting to the news that Fury had pulled out of the Usyk fight, Ngannou shared a meme of him mocked up as actor Kevin James with the caption: "So me and Joshua for the undisputed title March 8? #JoshuaNgannou".
Deontay Wilder offers advice to Manny Pacquiao's son ahead of latest fight
A spokesperson for Fury's promoter Frank Warren said the news was a "massive disappointment" and vowed to reschedule the fight "as soon as possible". They said: "Whilst this is still breaking news it is clearly a massive disappointment, after the work that has been done by so many people to finally deliver this historic event to the world.
"Once the Doctors have appraised Tyson's eye, we will have a better idea of the period of recovery needed. Once known we will work diligently with all the stakeholders and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to reschedule this fight as soon as possible and will of course keep everyone updated with developments."
The bout had already been pushed back once due to Fury almost losing to Ngannou and this latest setback has left boxing fans feeling incredibly frustrated. Ngannou, meanwhile, has vowed to take Joshua's "soul" when he faces the Brit next month.
"Never say never," he said in an appearance on the High Performance Podcast. "Nothing is impossible. We don't know the strength of Anthony Joshua. Even though I don't believe he has that strength, we're going to find out. In two months, we're going to find out. I'm going to be the one taking his soul."