Tyson Fury disappointed most fans this year when he announced he would be fighting boxing debutant and former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou.
The crossover bout will be set over ten rounds and a professional contest, but Fury’s WBC title will not be on the line – meaning that he likely won’t defend it at all this year.
Former super-middleweight champion Carl Froch has expressed disappointment at the promotion of the event, urging Fury and his promoter Frank Warren to come out and say that it’s about money rather than challenge or legacy. He calls it a ‘mismatch’ and ‘not good for boxing.’
‘The Gypsy King’ caught wind of the comments and sent a private message in response, doing little to deny that the purse was the driving motivation. Froch showed the exchange on his YouTube channel.
“The biggest fight in the world moosh. The richest heavyweight fight in history. Carl, don’t hate the player, hate the game.”
Froch responded saying that the undisputed fight against Oleksandr Usyk – that fell in negotiations earlier this year – was ‘far bigger.’ He then said that he was enjoying criticising the Ngannou fight as Warren had recently claimed he ducked Joe Calzaghe back in the day.
“I doubt that! You v Usyk is far bigger. Anyway, not hating, just having a go back at Bricktop for talkig s**t about me and Calzaghe…”
Froch also said that Fury revealed that the Ngannou fight was his biggest payday to date, not surprising giving the involvement of Saudi Arabia. ‘The Cobra’ conceded that he was looking forward to watching the spectacle play out.
The MMA man is being trained by heavyweight legend, Mike Tyson, although most in the boxing world are of the belief that it will do little to affect the result come fight night on October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.