Tyson Fury has been told his fight with Francis Ngannou is unlikely to happen while the pair have separate contracts with the UFC and Top Rank.
Fury retained his heavyweight title with sixth-round KO victory over Dillian Whyte last weekend before announcing his retirement from the sport. However he still plans to stage a crossover fight with UFC star Ngannou who climbed into the ring to talk up the prospect of a meeting.
But Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn believes UFC president Dana White would still have some say in Ngannou's plans to box even if he chooses to quit the promotion. “It’s a big fight. I actually don’t think it happens. I don’t know the contractual situation,” Hearn said on the MMA Hour. “I think Tyson Fury ’s up with ESPN or about to be and Ngannou’s up with the UFC, maybe Dana (White) comes in and does it himself, or maybe I do it with Dana. I don’t know.
“Big fight. Big fight. But it’s the contracts, I can’t imagine Dana doing a fight with Bob Arum, how long the contracts are, is Ngannou gonna re-sign? The Ngannou situation, I would be very surprised if Ngannou left the UFC without Dana White having some kind of involvement or control.”
Fury is out of contract with ESPN after defeating Whyte so could be free to negotiate deals on any platform. Similarly Ngannou is just months away from the end of his contract with the UFC but plans to enter fresh negotiations over a new deal.
Ngannou will demand that a clause is inserted into any fresh agreement that allows him to negotiate lucrative boxing deals alongside his blossoming UFC career where he currently holds the heavyweight title. Despite announcing his retirement, Fury immediately backtracked and spoke about his plan to meet Ngannou in the near-future.
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He believes a showdown between the pair would be special and believes it will make history in the sport. "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."
The 'Gypsy King' has already proposed a date next year in Las Vegas for the pair to meet providing they can resolve their contractual issues. He has also decided a set of rules with the pair fighting under boxing rules with MMA gloves. However Ngannou immediately countered his plans and believes the pair will need to negotiate over the hybrid nature of the fight.
