According to Ariel Helwani on Twitter, there is a scheduled date for the anticipated fight between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou. The fight, which is going to take place "under the official rules of professional boxing, with 3 judges ringside adopting the 10-point must system." It will be in a regulation boxing ring with standard boxing rules implemented. They will go head-to-head in Saudi Arabia on October 28th, 2023.
This fight has been a long time coming. Tyson Fury is looking for a new challenge after running the boxing gamut. He has wanted to fight people outside of the boxing sphere because there's honestly nobody else to fight. For Francis Ngannou, he last fought as part of the UFC, becoming the heavyweight champion and defending his title before breaking his leg. After a contract dispute between him and UFC President Dana White, Ngannou decided to remove himself from the league entirely.
Francis Ngannou is now tied to the Professional Fighters League. He will be part of the PFL's Super Fight Division next year. For now, he can focus entirely on this upcoming fight with Tyson Fury. The Gypsy King is still basking in the glory of being "the best boxer alive." Both are expected to meet in the middle of the ring and go for an electrifying knockout of the other. The fight will no doubt be available via pay-per-view.
Per Helwani, "An agreement has been reached with Queensberry, Top Rank, and Ngannou’s promotional banner, GIMIK Fight Promotions, to partner with Riyadh Season to host the event." That means Fury and Ngannou will get plenty of the proceeds via their promotional agencies. And while this fight will be an intriguing matchup, both fighters have called out a certain someone as a potential challenger. Jon "Bones" Jones, who just completed his triumphant comeback to the UFC, is the top contender. Fury says the UFC has sent Jones a "hybrid fight" offer for them to go against each other. And Ngannou has also said he wants a fight with "Bones." Until Jon Jones agrees to either of them, at least we have Fury-Ngannou to look forward to.
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