Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou recently provoked each other on social media, reigniting talks for a possible cross-sport mega-fight between the two giants.
After Fury knocked out Dillian Whyte in April, he was supringly joined by UFC star Ngannou in the middle of Wembley Stadium, declaring their mutual interest in a potential matchup.
However, in a recent tweet, 'the Gypsy King' questioned the eagerness of ‘the Predator’ towards meeting him inside the squared circle. Attaching a chicken emoji, along with a photo of them together at Wembley, the WBC Heavyweight Champion wrote:
“Thought you wanted some smoke @francis_ngannou. Let’s do a proper fight. Wembley Stadium 2022.”
Ngannou responded and made it clear that he wants to face Fury in 2023. He replied:
“Don't you dare think that I take my eyes out of you. You're still my priority! I'm coming for all the smoke. 2023.”
Check out the Twitter exchange between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou:
Less than an hour later, the UFC star let loose another tweet to reinforce his taunting of Fury. He said:
“What do you mean when you say ‘PROPER’ fight? Because I'm a real fighter, and I can make it a la carte for you since you can't handle it all.”
Of course, Fury didn’t take Ngannou’s words sitting down. In his reply, he warned the Cameroonian that he would not last a round against him inside the boxing ring.
“Bring it on big boy. You wouldn’t last a round me muscles @francis_ngannou.”
Check out Tyson Fury's tweet:
Can Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou happen?
Tyson Fury has repeatedly and adamantly claimed that he is retired from professional boxing. However, he recently disclosed that he’s willing to lace up his gloves again in exchange for a lucrative payday—a possibility if he agrees to face UFC star Francis Ngannou in what would be a massive exhibition bout.
Ngannou is still recovering from a knee injury that will keep him out of competition until the end of the year. Although he has expressed an interest in a “special rules” bout against Fury, given Ngannou's injury, a cross-sport heavyweight matchup between the two will have to wait until 2023.
UFC President Dana White has already criticized the Fury vs Ngannou idea. He sees the Cameroonian as a potential opponent for returning hall-of-famer Jon Jones.
Given the success of Floyd Mayweather vs Conor McGregor in 2017, which ended up being the second highest grossing PPV boxing fight of all time, the lucrative promise of the exhibition match will be very difficult to resist for Ngannou and Fury.