A potential fight between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou has been teased by both fighters for quite some time now. Chael Sonnen recently gave his take on the matchup, questioning the British heavyweight's aspirations of bagging a "half a billion" dollar paycheck.
Fury made it clear after his fight with Dillian Whyte in April that he would like to retire from boxing. While he's yet to officially vacate his WBC and The Ring belts, a mixed rules bout against Francis Ngannou appears to be on the radar for 'The Gypsy King'.
According to Chael Sonnen, Fury will likely follow through on his desire to fight Ngannou, praising the Mancunian as a man of his word. However, he questioned the English behemoth's desire for a massive paycheck. Sonnen claimed that that kind of money probably isn’t on the table when it comes to a bout without a clearly specified ruleset or any real stakes.
In a video posted to his YouTube channel, Sonnen said:
“Tyson’s not gonna pull the rug out on Francis. They have some kind of an agreement, that I fully expect that Tyson would honor. Especially after everything Francis is doing. And he knows what Francis is doing. Francis flew out, did a face-off did a thing with him on home soil. So a very public dispute."
'The American Gangster' added:
“Yeah, you’re going to get somebody to do it for sure, but it’s going to be strong on the back. And are you guys sure that the audience wants to see it? Great, let’s all come get along together. I’ll put up the 25 mil, I’ll bring the cameras and lights, but I’m not putting up the guarantee. And those guys would agree to that. But I’m only sharing with you what does that mean as it pertains to Francis. There’s no half a billy there.”
Watch Chael Sonnen weigh in on Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou below:
Tyson Fury reflects on his interaction with Francis Ngannou at Wembley
The aforementioned interaction between the two titleholders took place after Fury’s win over Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium back in April.
The two fighters' joint-interview in the ring made waves in the combat sports world. Fury made it clear that he was done with pure boxing, but made his desire for a fight with Francis Ngannou clear.
In his sit-down with Frank Warren after the bout, Fury said:
"What a send off: the fireworks, the crowd, the fans, the sing-song and the UFC guy jumping in the ring after the fight and me asking how big his corey was. It doesn't get any bigger than that.”
Watch Tyson Fury discuss his intercation with Francis Ngannou below: