Carl Froch has revealed a recent message exchange with Tyson Fury in the wake of his fight announcement with MMA fighter, Francis Ngannou.
Following demands that his team find him a worthy opponent, the WBC Champion has signed to face Ngannou – formerly of the UFC – in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 28 for mega money.
The reaction from the boxing world has been largely negative, mostly centred around the idea that an active world champion in a premier division was being granted ‘special permission’ by the WBC to have a crossover bout with no implications on his title.
Froch told TalkBOXING that he was okay with the event and fighters, but had a problem with Frank Warren’s promotion surrounding it.
“It might get massive numbers. It might make a lot of money. I think apparently the Saudis want to pay big money for it, so that’s fine, but just say it how it is. Call it how it is.
Just come out and say ‘listen it’s not a boxing match, it’s not a professional fight, this guy’s probably got no chance, but we’re gonna have a bit of fun. It’s gonna be an exhibition-type, this guy comes from the UFC background, so he obviously can’t box.'”
“From a business point of view you can totally understand it, but don’t tell us the game’s changing. Don’t tell us it’s the best thing to happen to boxing in ages and don’t get us excited.”
He then revealed Fury has told him in a message it was ‘about the money’ and that he was earning more than he would if he was fighting Oleksandr Usyk in an undisputed bout.
“I’ve been on with Tyson Fury, he sent me a message saying ‘Listen it’s about the money – it’s the biggest fight in heavyweight boxing’ is what he said to me.”
Whilst Ngannou has confirmed it will count on their professional records – his being currently blank – the WBC title will not be on the line as he is unranked and untested in the sport.