While the main event may be a spectacle contest between the lineal and WBC world champion and a boxing novice, the undercard for Tyson Fury’s fight with Francis Ngannou could feature three legitimate heavyweight bouts.
The much-talked-about coming together of Fury and Ngannou in Riyadh on October 28 is not the match-up many wanted to see for one of the top heavyweight on the planet.
Though Ngannou is a former MMA heavyweight champion, he has never boxed professionally before and, despite having Mike Tyson in his corner, many see it as an easy night for the Gypsy King.
Speaking to THE FIGHT with Teddy Atlas, Tyson Fury’s manager Spencer Brown shared details of the undercard, starting with Joseph Parker, who continues to rebuild after his loss to Joe Joyce in 2022.
“Joe Parker, he will be fighting a guy from Canada Simon Kean, who is 23 and 1.”
Andy Lee trained Parker is a close friend and training partner of Fury. At 31, he’s looking to prove he’s still worth shots at the top dogs in the division after a brief world title stint back in 2016.
“We’ve got British champion Fabio Wardley against David Adelaide, who spars with Tyson an awful lot.”
Wardley’s title will not be on the line for the grudge match given it’s not taking place on British shores. Still, the interest level for the two up-and-comers is high.
Finally, Brown revealed a big fight for a heavyweight who is often left out of the picture, as well as dropping the name of a real boxing legend.
“We’ve also got Martin Bakole against Carlos Takam. Martin is a wrecking ball of a man. We’ve got Roberto Duran’s grandson in there as well fighting an ex-MMA kid from England who’s British standard and gone over the boxing and done better than anybody in the boxing job.”
19-1 Bakole has built a run of eight victories since his sole loss to Michael Hunter. The 280lbs heavyweight and his opponent, Carlos Takam, share recent wins over Tony Yoka.
Whatever happens in the main event, the undercard seems set to offer some big-hitting drama and entertainment.