Preparation for mega fight
Boxing as a “circus”: Fury’s exhibition fight in Saudi Arabia
Boxing champion Tyson Fury (l) fights against Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia. photo
© James Manning/PA Wire/dpa
For a lot of money, boxing world champion Tyson Fury gets into the ring for a strange exhibition fight. The duel in Saudi Arabia is seen as a preliminary skirmish to one of the biggest fights in recent decades.
Of course, Mike Tyson can’t be missing from this wild show brawl. Of all people, the boxing legend, the world champion Tyson Fury, who has his first name to thank, is preparing the Brit’s opponent for the fight spectacle in Saudi Arabia.
With great fanfare, former UFC star Francis Ngannou will take on the self-proclaimed Gipsy King on Saturday (around 11:40 p.m. CEST/DAZN). Tyson is part of the team around ex-MMA champion Ngannou. For the first time, the cage fighter ventures into a classic boxing ring over ten rounds against a professional. “He has a lot of knowledge about boxing. He will teach Francis a lot,” praised Fury in an interview with the Daily Mail.
The unusual duel caused a lot of noise long before the first round bell went off. In a video, the two boxers portrayed themselves as superheroes. Football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, now working for the Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr, was among others seen in the clip. “This is something that no one has ever seen before,” said promoter Bob Arum pathetically at the press conference and spoke of a “historic” event.
The organizers invested enormous amounts of money in advertising the skirmish, which was worthless in terms of sport. And that also comes at the expense of TV viewers. German DAZN users who actually pay a subscription price for all content have to invest an additional 14.99 euros for the exhibition fight and the preliminary fights. For comparison: The usual monthly subscription costs between just under 30 and 40 euros, depending on the variation.
For Fury, Mike Tyson is a “living legend”
The human rights organization Amnesty International criticized Fury for his involvement in Saudi Arabia. The country is criticized for its human rights situation and so-called sportswashing. For years, the kingdom has been increasingly looking for space in the sporting cosmos in all directions. It was only in the summer that the country’s clubs went on a major shopping spree in top European football – and brought along many well-known purchases such as Neymar and Karim Benzema.
The big names benefit ruler Mohammed bin Salman. Pictures of boxing idol Mike Tyson or Fury himself also look good. His father’s former idol on the other side doesn’t bother the British Fury. “I think it doesn’t matter who trains him before the fight. He has to fight Tyson Fury – and he’s not an easy opponent for anyone,” he said in a tried and tested, confident boxer manner. Fury still described Tyson as a “living legend.”
Fury’s opponent Ngannou, who was considered the “Baddest Man on the Planet” as a former UFC champion, has a reputation as a very hard hitter – just like Fury. However, he lacks ring experience. Additionally, Ngannou hasn’t fought in about two years. The audience is probably less interested in these details.
In the duel, Fury’s WBC heavyweight world title is not at stake if he is defeated. However, the association still sees the encounter as a normal fight. In 2015, Fury surprisingly defeated Wladimir Klitschko and became world champion. The 35-year-old later gave up all titles. The Manchester-born giant battled depression and drug use. In 2018 he returned to the ring and regained the world title against Deontay Wilder.
Preparation for top fight against Usyk
The fight is primarily intended to fill Fury’s coffers. It is said in various media reports that Fury will receive 50 million dollars (almost 47.4 million euros) for his appearance. But the promoters’ calculation goes far beyond the preliminary banter against Ngannou, because the Brit is facing what is probably his most important fight in his career. It is also the most important exchange in recent boxing history.
Fury will face heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia in December or January. The unification fight is about the titles of all important associations. The Ukrainian Uysk holds the WBA, WBO and IBF titles. The winner can be crowned as the undisputed heavyweight champion.
Some time ago, Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas made fun of Fury’s exhibition fight on the X platform, formerly Twitter: “The biggest joke of all time in boxing!!! I’m sorry, but it’s not about boxing, it’s about circus .”