RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] and [autotag]Tyson Fury[/autotag] added another layer to their rivalry before the former UFC heavyweight champ’s return to the boxing ring on Friday against Anthony Joshua.
With Ngannou vs. Joshua fight week in full swing, a group was invited to the residence of Turki Al-Sheikh on Tuesday that included Eddie Hearn, both headliners, co-headliners Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker, as well as Fury.
There’s a consistent story told by many who witnessed it, that Fury walked in and immediately confronted Ngannou to kick off a spirited and tense conversation over the result of their October bout, which Fury won by controversial split decision. On Wednesday, Ngannou shared his side of how it unfolded.
“When we met, he said I called him a coward and I said, ‘Wow, where did you hear that from? I never made that statement about anybody. I never called anybody a coward, unless you’re really a coward,'” Ngannou told MMA Junkie and other reporters in a media scrum. “But I don’t care to call a man that steps in the ring to fight another man, a coward.’
“He said, ‘Yeah, you said you beat me.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I did beat you – that doesn’t mean I called you a coward. But I did beat you.’ Then he was like, ‘Why does your record say 0-1?’ I’m like, ‘Well, if it’s about the record, I really start to doubt now if what your record says is true, because I did beat you.’ Then I think the argument was about that. I had to ask him like, ‘In fact, why did your fight get postponed from December to February?’ He said he got cut. I asked, ‘Did you slip on the floor or something?’ No, he didn’t slip. Why did you find yourself on the floor in the fight? You didn’t slip. I had my statement to make.”
Ngannou said he was unbothered by the entire saga, but it continued at the pre-fight press conference when Fury was heckling Ngannou from the front row. Ngannou snapped back, and although it’s clear Fury rubbed him the wrong way, “The Predator” said it’s all about his personal desire to get that rematch and fight for a definitive result.
“Either way, for me, it wasn’t a problem,” Ngannou said. “It wouldn’t be a problem if someone thought they had a win over me in competition. If it goes to decision, people have the right to believe they won or the judges got it wrong. It seems for him to be a problem. I said, ‘Either way, we don’t have to sort this out now.’ We will run it back. He better be ready because I will be ready. He will not be my first battle anymore and I’m going to bring everything that I have with me and I’m going to throw it all.
“I was very calm. I told him, ‘The only moment that you have a chance is in the boxing ring.’ The only chance he has is when the boxing rules apply.”
For more on the fight, visit MMA Junkie’s hub for Joshua vs. Ngannou.