Tyson Fury’s ‘leaked’ messages about Francis Ngannou fight say it all about boxing champ
Tyson Fury believes his upcoming bout with Francis Ngannou is the “biggest fight in heavyweight boxing”. Carl Froch claims the world champion said so during an exchange of messages with the former fighter-turned-pundit.
Fury, 34, returns to the ring in late October after almost a year of inactivity. That comes after negotiations over a unification fight with Oleksandr Usyk, who holds the other four heavyweight belts, collapsed earlier this year.
The Ukranian champion had already announced plans to fight Fury’s compatriot Daniel Dubois later this summer. For Usyk, it is a mandatory defence against the WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight champion.
Conversely, Fury does not have a mandatory challenger to his lone title. Instead, he is opting for a lucrative crossover fight with Ngannou.
According to Froch, Fury has admitted that it is a money-driven decision. “He sent me a message saying, ‘Listen, it’s about the money. It’s the biggest fight in heavyweight boxing,’ that’s what he said to me,” Froch told talkSPORT on Tuesday.
“I said, ‘You’re gonna be getting paid more for this fight than any other fight you would’ve taken? A bigger fight than Oleksandr Usyk?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, it’s a bigger fight; I’m getting paid more than I would’ve got.’”
Fury reportedly earned $25 million in his last bout against Derek Chisora after receiving similar sums against Dillian Whyte ($30 million) and Deontay Wilder ($27 million) over recent years.
