WBC world champion Tyson Fury will fight former UFC champion Francis Ngannou

British heavyweight boxer, World Boxing Council (WBC) world champion Tyson Fury will return to the ring on October 28. His opponent will be one of the most famous mixed martial arts fighters Francis Ngannou. The fight will be an exhibition, but at the same time, its participants can count on impressive fees. For Ngannou, this evening will definitely be the most profitable in his life.

WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will fight his next fight on October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. His opponent will be the famous Cameroonian mixed martial artist Francis Ngannou, who recently retired from the UFC promotion (he has 17 wins, 3 losses, and won the UFC heavyweight title in 2021). However, no titles will be at stake in this match. The fight will be held in a ten-round format according to the rules of boxing. Previously, representatives of Ngannou tried to agree on some kind of mixed scheme, which obviously involves the introduction of elements of mixed martial arts, but such a proposal did not find understanding.

For Ngannou, the upcoming show could be a chance to shake up a career that was put on hold after he failed to negotiate financial terms with UFC bosses for a new contract. The monetary parameters of the upcoming fight were not disclosed, but Fury assured that his opponent would receive, “hell, 50 times more than he earned before.” Fury is probably exaggerating a little, but most likely, Ngannou will really earn more than he has received in his entire career. At the same time, the parties do not name the prize fund of the battle, it is obviously large. Note that for his last fight against Derek Chisora ​​in December last year, Fury received $ 25 million, excluding pay-per-view deductions. It is unlikely that the Briton agreed to a new fight for a smaller amount. But Ngannou’s biggest fee did not exceed $600,000.

Recall that, in fact, Fury was expected to meet with the holder of the belts of the World Boxing Association (WBA), the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and the International Boxing Federation (IBF) Alexander Usik. If this fight happened, and for the first time since 2000, the heavyweights would have an absolute world champion. But the parties failed to reach an agreement. As a result, Usyk will fight his next fight with a much less rated opponent – Briton Daniel Dubois – on August 26 in Wroclaw.

Well, the Fury-Ngannou show may well collect an excellent box office. Both fighters know how to sell themselves: Fury’s provocative statements have long been his hallmark, and Ngannou, by his own admission, does not intend to abandon the reputation of “the worst person in the world.”

And here we can recall the fight in which undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather and the most popular UFC fighter Conor McGregor met in 2017. Mayweather easily beat the Irishman, for which he received a total of almost $ 280 million. McGregor’s income was about $ 130 million. At the same time, guaranteed contributions to the fighters were $ 100 million for Mayweather and $ 30 million for McGregor. But income from pay-per-view increased their earnings several times. By the way, so far that show in terms of income, so no one has managed to surpass.

Alexander Petrov