TYSON FURY VS. FRANCIS NGANNOU WEIGH-IN, PRESSER, MEDIA WORKOUT, BETTING ODDS & HOW TO WATCH!
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (October 27th, 2023)– Fury vs. Ngannou will be presented live this Saturday, October 28, at 2 p.m. ET/ 11 a.m. PT, on ESPN+ PPV in the U.S. from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The combat crossover event of the year features WBC and lineal heavyweight boxing world champion Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) versus lineal MMA heavyweight world champion Francis Ngannou (17-3, 16 Finishes) in a highly anticipated 10-round boxing match. The long-awaited battle between two giants in their fields kicks off Riyadh Season, a months-long entertainment and sports festival in the Kingdom’s largest city.
The Top Rank on ESPN+ PPV all-heavyweight event will also feature:
- Undefeated British standouts Fabio Wardley (16-0, 15 KOs) and David Adeleye (12-0, 11 KOs) facing off in a 12-rounder.
- Former heavyweight world champion Joseph Parker (32-3, 22 KOs), a New Zealand-born veteran who trains with Fury, will fight Canadian knockout artist Simon Kean (23-1, 22 KOs) in a 10-rounder.
- Arslanbek Makhmudov (17-0, 16 KOs), a 260-plus pound power puncher fighting out of Montreal, Canada, will fight the upset-minded Junior Anthony Wright (20-4-1, 17 KOs) in a 10-rounder.
- Moses Itauma (5-0, 3 KOs), Great Britain’s 18-year-old heavyweight hopeful, will see action in a six-rounder against Istvan Bernath (10-1, 8 KOs).
Calling the action: ESPN’s Joe Tessitore, Hall of Famer, Timothy Bradley, Jr., Bernardo Osuna, and Brett Okamoto.
At Thursday’s press conference, an eventful show that included an animated John Fury (Tyson’s father), this is what the fighters had to say:
“It’s absolutely unbelievable to be out here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To be top of the bill, the main event, is even more special. We’ve all got a lot to be thankful for. We’ve all come a long way to be here. This has all happened in a short space of time. And to see it all unfold is really amazing.”
“Francis Ngannou is a big man. I see he’s taken a bit of advice from me with the clothes he’s wearing. He’s looking a bit snazzy. They say the finest form of flattery is imitation. And he’s got his suit on with no shirt on, and I started that! So, he’s imitating. But, there’s one thing I say, and it’s that many will imitate, but no one will ever replicate. Because there’s only one Gypsy King.”
“How do I prepare for a guy like this? It’s pretty difficult, but in America, we say a statement like this, ‘I’m gonna knock a motherf***er out!’ And that’s how we do it. I’ve been working with SugarHill {Steward} to knock him out cold on Saturday night, and I have no doubt in my mind that I will knock him out.”
“He’s a big, strong guy. Obviously, he’s got a good punch. But so am I. I’m a big, strong guy. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be the world heavyweight champion. But I believe there’s levels to the game. And he’s going to find out my level on Saturday night.”
“This is a dream come true. And I remember four years ago, when I first met Mike Tyson, my only request was for him to be in my corner if I fight Tyson Fury. People thought I was losing it. They thought I was crazy. They thought it would never happen. But here we are. The fight is happening. So, I’m living a dream. This has always been my dream. It wasn’t easy, but we are here.”
“I want to thank Tyson Fury for taking the fight and taking this risk because there is a lot of risk here for him. He might go to sleep on Saturday night. But I appreciate his courage, and I thank him.”
“This camp has been different from my past camps. It’s a different experience, a different beast. I was aware that there was a mountain in front of me, so that’s why we started the camp a lot earlier. And it went well, but having somebody like Mike Tyson around and my coach Dewey Cooper was very helpful in terms of approaching this fight.”
“We got Mike Tyson in, and the first thing he said that stuck in my mind is when he said, ‘Listen, he has two hands and two feet like you.’ And I got that. And that’s enough for Saturday night. Tyson Fury is definitely the best in boxing, but that’s stopping on Saturday night.”
David Adeleye
“Saturday night is two days away. The talking is done now. We’ll see how tough he is.”
“He’s not the same as me. I see his mannerisms and how he carries himself. We just ain’t the same. But I don’t really take it all in. What matters is what happens on fight night. What he does other than that doesn’t really bother me.”
“What’s going to happen when I take him into deep waters? I know he’s never faced a banger like me. I don’t think, I know.”
“It’s nothing towards him personally. I just hate how he talks, and he talks like he’s a seasoned pro. The man has had 16 fights, I don’t really understand.”
“He’s got no boxing ability. He can only fight one way, and that’s walking forward. He’s got no boxing I.Q. I can back up and I know Wardley will follow me. He’s not intelligent enough to see that I’m setting traps. And on Saturday night, you will see that.”
Fabio Wardley
“It’s a very special stage for a very special night. There is a lot to look forward to on this card, but I think the fight with me and David has captured a lot of eyes. A lot of people are interested. And I’m looking forward to having a big night.”
“He hasn’t faced anyone of any worth or of any level, so there’s nothing there for me to look at and say ‘Okay, maybe he has shown this or that.’ There’s nothing I’ve seen that has made me consider that, so it’s all smoke and mirrors for me.”
“I’d say I’ll be the first man to beat him, but I think there was someone else on his record who pretty much beat him, but he did well to get home a home decision, so maybe I’ll be the first on record. But I think it’s been seen by quite a wide audience in the boxing community that there are flaws there that have been exploited. And when it gets hot, like he says, he thinks he knows how to swim, but when he was drowning before, he didn’t know what to do.”
Joseph Parker
“Even if I were fighting Tyson Fury, I don’t think there’s any more that we could have done in camp. We’ve trained very hard for Simon Kean. And we respect him as a fighter. We know that he’s got a lot of knockouts, so we’ve done everything in our power to be as prepared as we can be for this challenge.”
“I’m going to follow the plan that Andy Lee says and punch his face.”
Simon Kean
“This is a big challenge for me. This week, Joseph said he wants to knock me out. Of course he wants to knock me out, and I want to knock him out, too. That’s boxing. I know I have a big challenge and that I will need a great performance to get the win, but I had a really great training camp and I’m ready to shock the world.”
Arslanbek Makhmudov
“He has good defense. He’s fast. He’s not as tall as my other opponents, so that’s going to be a good change for me. I can’t ever say that I will score the knockout, but I will just do my best and everything will come from that. I’m going to give a good performance.”
Junior Anthony Wright
“I’m in the gym all the time. I work out like I’ve got nothing else to do. I took advantage of the situation, and here I am. It’s definitely going to be a good fight because I am a puncher as well. It’s going to be one of the best fights.”
Moses Itauma
“I’m not going to go in there and look for the KO. But obviously, I’m going to go in there and try my best. And hopefully the KO comes. At the end of the day, nobody can predict the future, but if I go in there and do 100 percent, then I’ll come out victorious.”
This is what Fury and Ngannou had to say after their respective workouts:
“I showed the best version of me, and if he can deal with that, best of luck to him.”
“I was in there floating like a butterfly. Nineteen stone, can you believe that? And 6-foot-9. And moving like that! That’s shocking. It’s not fair, really!”
“It’s happening. He’s the bull, I’m the matador! 99.999 percent of the time, the matador wins!”
“Francis Ngannou is a big, fat sausage. That’s why he won’t take his top off. He’s embarrassed of his body. If it was up to Francis, he’d fight with his t-shirt on. Facts!
“To be honest, I haven’t gotten any respect from the boxing community, so I am not expecting anybody to respect me. I think I need to claim my own respect. Respect is not given. You don’t just walk out there and demand people to respect you for no reason. I think respect is earned, whether it’s the boxing community or life in general.”
“Yes, I am going to fight, and if that big shot comes, it comes. If it doesn’t come, I really intend to fight properly.”
“Anything is possible. It’s possible. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here. In fact, see how we are talking about Tyson Fury? Who would’ve believed that a couple years ago?
“I was having fun. I almost wanted to just dance. Then I realized that I would show them my dance skills. And I was like, ‘nah, I don’t have any!””
#FuryNgannou Average Betting Odds:
• CLICK HERE for PHOTOS
Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank via Getty Images
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Credit: Top Rank
(Top Rank on ESPN+ PPV, 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT)
• Tyson Fury 277.7 lbs. vs. Francis Ngannou 272.1 lbs
(Heavyweight – 10 Rounds)
• Fabio Wardley 241 lbs vs. David Adeleye 232 lbs
(Heavyweight — 12 Rounds)
• Joseph Parker 250.1 lbs vs. Simon Kean 255.1 lbs
(Heavyweight — 10 Rounds)
• Arslanbek Makhmudov 260 lbs vs. Junior Anthony Wright 229.5 lbs
(Heavyweight — 10 Rounds)
• Moses Itauma 236.1 lbs vs. Istvan Bernath 257.1 lbs
(Heavyweight — 6 Rounds)
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