Former UFC middleweight, Chael Sonnen, believes that Tyson Fury’s proposed fight with Francis Ngannou is the ‘dumbest idea in sports history’.
Sonnen is renowned for his ‘trash talk’ and didn’t hold back on the WBC heavyweight champion, who he thinks is trying to create his own sport.
As talks for the undisputed fight against Oleksandr Usyk continue to drag on, Fury laid out conditions for a crossover fight with former UFC heavyweight champion, Ngannou.
The terms included four-ounce gloves (rather than the standard ten-ounce), a cage rather than a ring, and most bizarre of all, Mike Tyson to appear as guest referee.
This is not the first time Fury has teased a fight with the hardest hitting fighter in UFC history. However, now that the Cameroonian has been released from his contract, Fury has competition with other heavyweights such as Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora, who have also called him out.
On his YouTube channel, Sonnen questioned why Fury resorted to ‘begging’ for a fight in a ‘made up a sport.’ The UFC legend was likely missing a bit of playfulness in Fury’s suggestion, who initially set out the terms with a smile on his face.
“They’ve always said they’re going to make up a sport. These two were going to do a game, but they were going to do something combat related. For reasons unknown, they weren’t going to box.
Francis offered to box, and for reasons unknown, Tyson did not accept that invitation, and they were going to make up rules. Tyson finally laid out for us what they are. They were going to fight in a cage. I have no idea why. They’re going to fight in a cage. OK, fine.
They’re going to wear four-once gloves. I have no idea why, but OK, fine. They are then going to follow boxing rules, the rules of Queensberry. …
To watch Tyson Fury beg, it was surprising. I don’t want to call it disappointing. It was really close to calling it that, but I don’t want to call it that. So, Tyson comes to us with perhaps the dumbest idea in sports history. He knows it is.”
Fight fans will be hoping that they do not have to settle for a fight between Ngannou and ‘The Gypsy King’, rather than seeing the long-awaited first undisputed heavyweight fight of the four-belt era.