Tyson Fury has been told he could "change the game" for fighters and earn a monster payday in a fight with Jon Jones.
Heavyweight boxing champion Fury has taken aim at his MMA counterpart, but wants any potential bout between the pair to be in his domain, not the UFC octagon. And while ex-UFC champion Henry Cejudo admits there is a very small chance of victory for the Brit if he steps over to the cage, it could be a revolutionary move for fighters.
And the ex-two-weight world champion has also enticed Fury by assuring him that a fight with Jones would be the biggest earner of his career, far above any of his big money world title bouts. Crossover fights are known to be massive at the box office when the right two dance partners make them enticing for viewers.
"So Tyson Fury and Jones Jones' saga continues," Cejudo told fans in a social media video. "You know who has the leverage here, who has the chance to really change the Mixed Martial Arts industry forever? His name is Tyson Fury. Tyson Fury, you have an offer by the most powerful MMA promoter in history in Dana White.
"Will you get paid more than you have been in boxing? 100 per cent. Jon Jones will fight you any day of the damn week, my question is; is Tyson Fury all talk? Or is he just out there for media attention? Tyson Fury I am calling you out, let's change the game. Yeah, the chances of you winning are pretty slim, but you could also change the game.
"You could open doors that nobody has ever opened, this would be the best heavyweight vs the greatest of all time. The boxer vs the mixed martial artist, I like it. Tyson Fury, answer that damn call."
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Fury has, however, made his interest, or lack thereof, in the idea very clear. He recently told UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya there was no way he would ever step foot in the cage, and declared that he only fights under the Queensbury boxing rules.
The pair were backstage at a fight in Australia when Fury said to Adesanya that he isn't keen to follow in the footsteps of Claressa Shields and swapping sports in a new YouTube video. "I ain't getting in no cage," he declared. "Not to scrap with you - I'm a straight up boxer, Queensbury rules brother."
Fury earlier this month insisted he would be interested in boxing either Jones or the man who vacated his heavyweight belt Francis Ngannou, who plans to make the switch this year. But he would only do it in the ring, posting to Instagram : "If you guys want to fight me it’s got to be under boxing rules. I don’t roll round the floor, I stand up and punch.”
