Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou had their weigh-in on Friday before Saturday’s fight, and coming face to face with Ngannou had Tyson Fury making comparisons as a former UFC star who will make his professional boxing debut on Saturday at the age of 37.
“It’s like a table tennis champion facing Djokovic in the Wimbledon final, totally different,” said the WBC heavyweight champion.
Fury, 35, weighed in at 277.7 pounds, while his Cameroonian opponent weighed 272.1 pounds after both men stepped on the scales.
I’ve played this game for so long. This can’t affect me. It’s part of the game
Fury vs Ngannou, a tense weigh-in with aggression
Moments later, Fury pushed his forehead into Ngannou, who responded with a jab to the chest to give himself some space.
“I’ve played this game for so long. This can’t affect me. It’s part of the game,” Ngannou said of Fury’s antics.
Both fighters predicted a quick conclusion on Saturday
“We’ll take a couple of minutes at the beginning, but I think this fight will be over very quickly,” Ngannou said.
Fury, the self-proclaimed “Gypsy King,” will earn a $50 million payday for the fight in the Saudi Arabian capital.
The fight will last 10 rounds and will count as an official fight, according to the WBC. However, Fury’s belt will not be on the line, should he be defeated.
“I’m going to make it nice and short for him,” Fury said while later commenting that he will take a week off before discussing a fight with Oleksandr Usyk to unify all the major heavyweight boxing titles.
Fury vs. Ngannou Full Card
The pay-per-view bill will be loaded with heavyweights and will feature a 12-round matchup between undefeated British heavyweights Fabio Wardley (16-0, 15 KOs) and David Adeleye (12-0, 11 KOs), along with a 10-round fight between former world heavyweight champion Joseph Parker (32-3, 22 KOs) and Canadian knockout Simon Kean (23-1, 22 KOs).
Montreal demolition man Arslanbek Makhmudov (17-0, 16 KOs) will fight Junior Anthony Wright (20-4-1, 17 KOs) in a 10-round bout, and Moses Itauma (5-0, 3 KOs) will open the pay-per-view event in a six-rounder against Istvan Bernath (10-1, 8 KOs).
