Tyson Fury’s September opponent is still a mystery, but fans have been promised that the news is imminent – and Dillian Whyte believes he knows who it will be.
Fury faced Whyte in 2022 in a mandatory defence of his WBC World Heavyweight title. The challenger was outclassed and dispatched by an uppercut in the sixth, allowing Fury to go on to a voluntary defence against Derek Chisora in December.
Since then, the champ has been in ultimately doomed negotiations with Oleksandr Usyk for an undisputed fight, and is currently gearing up to face somebody else instead.
Names like Andy Ruiz Jr and Zhilei Zhang have been mentioned and then ruled out, and fans are starting to wonder just who will occupy the other corner.
Whyte believes it will be former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Francis Ngannou, in a crossover bout. He spoke to Sky Sports on the matter.
“I don’t know what’s going on with Fury … Apparently he’s going to be fighting Francis Ngannou in a UFC fight or something.”
“Yes, I think that’s his next fight. Francis Ngannou. But I don’t blame him. These [other] guys don’t wanna fight. At least he’s actively trying to fight and trying to do something. So I don’t blame him.”
Ngannou and Fury have enjoyed some public back and forths since the former’s split from the UFC and announcement that he would be entertaining offers from the boxing world.
There’s little doubt the event would do numbers worldwide, but a test for ‘The Gypsy King’ it is not.