Francis Ngannou, who is set to fight Anthony Joshua, engaged in a heated exchange with Tyson Fury, with whom he has a rivalry, during a press conference.
Francis Ngannou is set to fight Anthony Joshua this Friday. However, his fiercest trash talk wasn’t for Joshua, but for a different opponent.
Tyson Fury, a boxing star, was in the audience during the Ngannou vs. Joshua press conference. This event took place on Wednesday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. When the topic of their October 2023 bout came up, Fury couldn’t resist throwing a few verbal jabs at Ngannou.
Ngannou, who’s a former UFC champ and current PFL fighter, lost to Fury in his boxing debut. But he did manage to score the only knockdown in Round 3. He almost clinched a split decision over the long-reigning heavyweight king of boxing. The heated verbal sparring between Ngannou and Fury kicked off when Ngannou claimed their fight as a win.
Ngannou stated, “[Joshua] will be the best [win] so far, but as I said, I’m just getting started.” He’s eagerly anticipating a victory on Friday night. However, he doesn’t believe that this win will define his career. “The road is still long and I’m really intending to gain a lot of major victories like this,” he added.
He continued, “One over Tyson—one more over Tyson because I had the first one over him and I’m intending to have the second one. He’s been b******* about it, which is true.” This comment got Fury’s attention, prompting him to respond from his seat. The broadcast didn’t clearly capture Fury’s response, but it was enough to fire up Ngannou.
Ngannou shot back, “You’re going to sleep in the [ring] again and I’m going to wipe the ring with your ass again. You wiped the ring with your ass, that was the blood in the ring sticking to your pants.” Fury kept on jawing at Ngannou, hinting at a possible face-off during fight week. Ngannou didn’t take this lightly and issued a warning to Fury.
Ngannou warned, “I tell you, your only chance is in the ring with the boxing rules. When you step off of that ring, you better stay five meters away before you talk your s*** because if I lose it, you’re going to have a really bad time, my friend.” He added, “Respect the fact that boxing is protecting us and the rules of boxing are protecting us because without that, you are nothing in front of me. I would beat you every day, twice on Sunday.”
Ngannou’s words come from a place of experience. He has a 12-2 record in the UFC, including a stint as the heavyweight champion. He’s now aiming for boxing gold by defeating Joshua. The winner of Friday’s match in Riyadh is expected to face the victor of a May 18 match between Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
You can watch a video of Ngannou and Fury’s exchange below.