Tyson Fury has mocked former UFC champion Francis Ngannou by stating he could knock him out after drinking 15 pints.
Heavyweight champion Fury, 34, got in the ring to tease a crossover fight against Ngannou, 36, after the Brit knocked out Dillian Whyte to defend his world title last April. The fight is now a possibility as Ngannou parted ways with the UFC in January and has since signed with rival MMA promotion PFL, but the Cameroonian is still eager to step foot in the ring.
Ngannou doubled down on his call-out of Fury by uploading a video of himself hitting the speedbag with a caption that read: "Anyway... I'll be ready". Fury didn't take kindly to Ngannou's comment as he reposted the clip on his Instagram account and also wrote: "I'll have 15 pints and still KO you big stiff tramp!"
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Fury's claim didn't go unnoticed by Ngannou who then tweeted: "Stop talking, Tyson, and come try. I’m already doing you a favour using your gloves and your rules because your limited skill set." Fury is currently without an opponent after his undisputed heavyweight title fight against Oleksandr Usyk in April fell through.
'The Gypsy King' was then linked to a fight against either Andy Ruiz Jr and Zhilei Zhang in late summer, but talks of both fights fizzled out. Fury also offered domestic rival Anthony Joshua a fight in September, but Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn insisted they never received a proposal from Fury's team.
Fury's coach Andy Lee has encouraged his fighter to take a fight against Ngannou because he believes it doesn't pose much risk. "There's only a few people out there who can actually fight Tyson," Lee told Fox Sports Australia. "He's achieved so much, it's really a case of who is out there to challenge him? While the fight [with Ngannou] would be a special type of attraction, like a freak show, if it's about making the most money with the lowest amount of risk, that's smart."
"At Tyson's age, the years he's put into the game, why not? I think it's a good fight for him, but as for how long it lasts? Tyson could make it go for as long as he wanted. He could mess around a bit, make Francis look good. Like Floyd Mayweather does sometimes. Then he could take him out when he needs to."
