Tyson Fury backtracked on his retirement announcement within seconds by calling out UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
The Cameroonian fighter travelled from his home in Las Vegas to Wembley Stadium to watch Fury brutally knock out Dillian Whyte in London tonight. And when American broadcaster ESPN got Ngannou into the ring, he and Fury appeared to verbally agree to a fight.
In a prior interview with BT Sport, which had happened seconds earlier, Fury had confirmed his long-touted plan to retire from fighting after going unbeaten and defending his heavyweight title on two occasions. But he seems interested in a crossover fight with the hard-hitting UFC champion Ngannou, who is months away from the end of his UFC contract.
"This is going to be one very special fight," Fury told ESPN in the ring after his win. "It'll be something never before seen in the history of our sport. We're not talking two guys around 140lb, I'm 270lb, he's 270lb. It's going to be an explosive fight when it happens."
"I'm the boxing heavyweight champion, he's the UFC heavyweight champion, he's in great shape, look at the muscles on him," Fury continued. Ngannou added: "We are going to find out who is the baddest motherf***er on the planet," to which Fury replied "good man Francis".
Ngannou is nursing a knee injury, but has vowed to return for a hybrid-rules bout with the pair wearing 4oz gloves and competing under what are essentially boxing rules.
"It's going to be an hybrid fight with different type of rules, MMA gloves but in the ring," Ngannou explained. "We'll mix it up and do it a little different."
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Fury had just seconds prior vowed to hang up the gloves, telling BT Sport: "I promised my lovely wife Paris of 14 years that after the Wilder 3 fight, that would be it.
"I meant it, we had a war, it was a great trilogy and I meant that. But I got offered to fight at Wembley at home and I believe I owed it to the fans, every person in the United Kingdom to come here and fight at Wembley. Now that it's all done, I think this is it, this might be the final curtain for the Gypsy King. What a way to go out, a big thank you to the United Kingdom!"
Ngannou most recently defeated Ciryl Gane in the final fight of his UFC deal, earning just $600,000 for his first world heavyweight title defence. Meanwhile, Fury made a staggering $29.5million tonight to face Whyte, and would likely make another mega payday for the showdown with Ngannou.
The pair have gone back-and-forth on social media for months ahead of their dream fight, and appear to now have agreed to square off.
