Tag: Tyson Fury

Deontay Wilder asks Luis Ortiz to clarify remarks about champ’s tactics

Deontay Wilder is asking Luis Ortiz to clarify remarks Ortiz made about Wilder tactics that “should be illegal and borderline criminal.’’

Deontay Wilder is asking Luis Ortiz to clarify remarks Ortiz made through a translator about Wilder tactics that “should be illegal and borderline criminal.’’

Wilder was surprised to hear what Ortiz said Tuesday during a conference call for their heavyweight rematch on Nov. 23 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

“I’ve never heard of that, so I’m going to think he’s being sarcastic,’’ Wilder said. “The only thing that’s criminal is me hitting people with the right hand and almost killing them.’’

Through his translator, Ortiz, a Cuban, questioned the punches thrown by Wilder, who knocked him down three times – once in the fifth round and twice in the 10th – in a Wilder victory on March 3, 2018 in Brooklyn. Ortiz is quoted as saying that Wilder threw clubbing blows on the top of the head. He also said Wilder used the inside of his hands in delivering his punches.

“Quite frankly, it should be illegal and borderline criminal,’’ Ortiz said. “You never know what Wilder is going to do and how he approaches his fights.’’

Wilder (41-0-1, 40 knockouts), usually a trash-talker, has praised Ortiz (31-1, 26 KOs) since the rematch was announced in mid-September.

“He needs to clarify that for me before I take it the wrong way,’’ said Wilder, who agreed to a dangerous rematch that some say puts his projected sequel with Tyson Fury in February in jeopardy. “We know when I get mad, it’s over with.

“Right now, I’m neutral with him. I’m very respectful. He should thank God that I blessed him a second time when I didn’t have to before I take this the wrong way and really want to beat his ass.’’

Tyson Fury accepts challenge of UFC’s Stipe Miocic: ‘after I get Wilder out of the way?

Tyson Fury, at least in words, has accepted UFC’s Stipe Miocic’s offer for a crossover fight.

Tyson Fury has a lot on his plate these days.

That apparently includes the possibility of a crossover fight with Stipe Miocic, the UFC heavyweight champion who recently stated his desire to fight the “Gypsy King.” Miocic told ESPN that he would rather face Fury than engage in a third fight with former UFC titleholder Daniel Cormier.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Fury, it seems, has taken up Miocic on his offer.

“Stipe says he wants to box me. That would be a good fight, for sure,” Fury told his management company MTK Global.

Fury, of course, has a pretty packed schedule. He is tentatively scheduled to face Wilder in February if the American titleholder defeats Luis Ortiz in their November 23 rematch.

“After I get Wilder out of the way, I’ll fight Stipe in a boxing match if he wants it,” Fury continued. “It would be a big crossover fight like Mayweather and McGregor.”

Fury (29-0-1, 20 knockouts) is no stranger to the crossover fight, having already stepped into the professional wrestling universe against the WWE’s Braun Strowman in October. Most recently, Fury was shown on a video throwing knees and elbows with UFC middleweight champion Darren Till in the gym. That caught Miocic’s attention on Twitter.

Fury, for his part, relishes the idea of taking on the UFC stars.

“I’m open to (fighting Miocic), so he should come and see me,” Fury said. “It would be the same outcome for any of (the UFC fighters): They’ll all get smashed.”

 

Tyson Fury answers Stipe Miocic’s challenge: ‘after I get Wilder out of the way’

Heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury said he’d be willing to fight UFC’s Stipe Miocic after Fury’s rematch with Deontay Wilder.

Undefeated former heavyweight boxing champion of the world Tyson Fury has accepted Stipe Miocic’s challenge and says he’d be happy to face the UFC heavyweight champ – inside the boxing ring.

Miocic (19-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) told ESPN on Monday that he had turned his sights from a trilogy bout with Daniel Cormier to a matchup with Fury (29-0-1 boxing), saying he’d be interested to face the 6-foot-9 Brit in the octagon or the boxing ring.

And, in an interview conducted by his management team MTK Global, Fury formally accepted the challenge and said he’d happily face Miocic in a boxing match a little further down the line, once he has dealt with his unfinished business with heavyweight titleholder Deontay Wilder.

“Stipe says he wants to box me; that would be a good fight for sure,” Fury said. “After I get Wilder out of the way, I’ll fight Stipe in a boxing match if he wants it. It would be a big crossover fight like Mayweather and McGregor.”

Fury has a return to the ring penciled in for February 2020 and hopes that Wilder will agree to face him in a rematch of their epic December 2018 clash that finished in a hotly-disputed split draw in Los Angeles. But, once Fury has faced “The Bronze Bomber” again, he said he’d be interested in a potential matchup with Miocic.

“I’m open to that fight, so he should come and see me,” Fury said. “It would be the same outcome for any of them: They’ll all get smashed.”

Fury’s comments made clear that he’d be looking to face Miocic under boxing rules, rather than the Unified Rules of MMA, but that doesn’t mean Fury has no respect for the sport. Indeed, he spent some time cracking the pads as he worked his elbows, knees and sprawls with Darren Till at the Liverpudlian’s training base at Kaobon Gym last week.

“It was exciting training with Darren Till and we get on like a house on fire,” said Fury, who shares the same management company with Till.

“He put me through a hard training session, and it was really good.”

MMA stars know where to find money … against boxing counterparts

In recent days, the UFC’s Jorge Masvidal and Stipe Miocic have expressed interest in facing Canelo Alvarez and Tyson Fury, respectively.

MMA stars may get the earlier start times, but it’s the top boxers who take home the more gratifying paychecks.

Canelo Alvarez, boxing’s biggest attraction, was reduced to playing second fiddle in the combat sports world when DAZN decided to delay his title fight against Sergey Kovalev on Nov. 2 to accommodate the UFC main event between Jorge Masvidal and Nate Diaz that took place that same evening.

Critics ripped the streaming service for making it appear as though boxing was taking a backseat to the UFC. However, in at least one respect, it’s the other way around.

In the days after his technical decision over Diaz, Masvidal has been busy beating the drums for … an Alvarez fight. And Stipe Miocic, the UFC heavyweight champion, has floated the idea of reneging on a third fight with Daniel Cormier to face heavyweight contender Tyson Fury in a boxing match.

Notice a pattern yet?

It’s always the mixed martial artist clamoring to fight the boxer and seldom vice versa. For good reason. As has been well documented, the top boxers earn far more than their UFC counterparts. And there’s something about the crossover appeal that gets people to take out their wallets, as the 2017 pay-per-view bonanza – all 4.3 million buys – between UFC’s Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather demonstrated.

If you’re Masvidal, why not push for an Alvarez fight? Crazier things have happened. A Canelo fight would represent by far the most lucrative opportunity in his career. Masvidal discussed a potential Canelo fight on the Dan Le Batard show on Tuesday.

“If he was to come to the MMA, it wouldn’t be a challenge,” Masvidal said. “I would throw 10,000 left high kicks and he hasn’t thrown one. It’s kind of the same thing in boxing, where if I’ve thrown a million jabs, he’s thrown 10 million because that’s all his focus is on, boxing.

“That being said, there’s still an element where I could put his ass to sleep. I’m actually bigger even though I may not hit harder, but definitely bigger, and I consider myself 10 times the athlete he is, just because of MMA in general, all the strength, speed that we have to generate. … I feel I could hurt this dude.”

Of course, Masvidal is dreaming … of the money.

 

Francis Ngannou happy to fight Tyson Fury in MMA, then return favor in boxing

Francis Ngannou is down to fight Tyson Fury in both the octagon and the boxing ring.

[autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] is more than willing to fight [autotag]Tyson Fury[/autotag] in the octagon and the boxing ring.

Yes, that’s “and,” not “or.”

With boxing world champion Fury appearing to be dead set on making an eventual move to MMA, he proceeded to call out several heavyweights, including Ngannou, who wasted little time with his response.

“I’m like man, I don’t have a fight and anyways I was about to come find you in your territory, so if you come to my own, that would be great,” Ngannou told MMA Junkie. “And I can return you the favor because I want to cross to boxing sometime soon. That’s exactly how I feel right now.”

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Ngannou (14-3 MMA, 9-2 UFC), whose initial dream was to become a pro boxer, is very familiar with the the sweet science. His boxing background has translated very well into his MMA career, with 10 knockouts on his resume, taking out his last three opponents in the first round.

And while he’s been eager to get his next UFC fight, Ngannou says naturally, he’d be interested in facing Fury, since he comes from boxing roots himself.

“Maybe the frustration, the situation is teasing me, but my background is boxing,” Ngannou said. “I was going to do boxing before I discovered MMA. My dream was always boxing, so I took MMA because it was the opportunity that came to me, and I just needed it.”

Fury has already made his first step towards MMA, when he paid a visit to middleweight contender Darren Till at Team Kaobon, and was seen hitting pads, and drilling some takedown defense with Till during the training session.

“I think Fury is taking himself seriously,” Ngannou said. “I think he’s very serious about when he said he’s going to move to the octagon. He likes the show. He’s a showtime guy – you can see when he walks out in the fight. You can see like recently he was in WWE, so I think at this point in his life, he’s just there for the show.”

“Once again the video is just the proof of what I’m saying: He’s serious,” Ngannou added. “He’s taking himself really serious, and I wonder if he has been training. I think he’s been training on the ground you know, like in secret because he seems to be liking it, to like MMA, which many people do, and they just do it in secret, but now he just came out with his passion and obviously the intention to, actually.”

Ngannou, himself, has also been taking a potential fight with Fury seriously as he was seen hanging out with boxing legend and former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson, who he said has agreed to coach him if he were to fight Fury.

“Mike Tyson is a very spiritual guy,” Ngannou said. “I feel like when he was talking, I can recognize myself about almost all what he said. Very wise way to see life, he understands how life works. I mean not only sports, but life. It was very great, very interesting,”

UFC heavyweight champ Stipe Miocic was also on the list of heavyweights that Fury called out, as he recently said that he’d actually rather fight Fury over a Daniel Cormier trilogy.

But Ngannou believes Miocic only started entertaining the idea, when he saw the back and forth between him and Fury, and the progress they’ve made towards a potential fight.

“I’m not having a problem for Stipe to fight somebody,” Ngannou said. “I just want to fight, and I want the title shot. Maybe if it’s happening, him fighting Tyson Fury, and they let me fight for the belt, let’s go, but I think Stipe is reacting like that now because how Tyson Fury and I have been going back and forth.”

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Tyson Fury answers Stipe Miocic’s challenge, offers boxing match ‘after I get Wilder out of the way’

Undefeated former heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury said he’d be prepared to face Stipe Miocic in a boxing match, but the matchup would have to wait.

Undefeated former heavyweight boxing champion of the world [autotag]Tyson Fury[/autotag] has accepted [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag]’s challenge and says he’d be happy to face the UFC heavyweight champ – inside the boxing ring.

Miocic (19-3 MMA, 13-3 UFC) told ESPN on Monday that he had turned his sights from a trilogy bout with Daniel Cormier to a matchup with Fury (29-0-1 boxing), saying he’d be interested to face the 6-foot-9 Brit in the octagon or the boxing ring.

And, in an interview conducted by his management team MTK Global, Fury formally accepted the challenge and said he’d happily face Miocic in a boxing match a little further down the line, once he has dealt with his unfinished business with WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.

“Stipe says he wants to box me; that would be a good fight for sure,” Fury said. “After I get Wilder out of the way, I’ll fight Stipe in a boxing match if he wants it. It would be a big crossover fight like Mayweather and McGregor.”

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Fury has a return to the ring penciled in for February 2020 and hopes that Wilder will agree to face him in a rematch of their epic December 2018 clash that finished in a hotly-disputed split draw in Los Angeles. But, once Fury has faced “The Bronze Bomber” again, he said he’d be interested in a potential matchup with Miocic.

“I’m open to that fight, so he should come and see me,” Fury said. “It would be the same outcome for any of them: They’ll all get smashed.”

Fury’s comments made clear that he’d be looking to face Miocic under boxing rules, rather than the Unified Rules of MMA, but that doesn’t mean Fury has no respect for the sport. Indeed, he spent some time cracking the pads as he worked his elbows, knees and sprawls with Darren Till at the Liverpudlian’s training base at Kaobon Gym last week.

“It was exciting training with Darren Till and we get on like a house on fire,” said Fury, who shares the same management company with Till.

“He put me through a hard training session, and it was really good.”

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Tyson Fury insists he’s weary of fame he constantly nurtures

Tyson Fury says he most comfortable and happy in the gym, not with a microphone in his face.

The Tyson Fury road show continues, although it’s beginning to sound as though it won’t stop in the very place it started.

It’s hard to say, because, well, Fury has so much to say. He has more to say than Charles Barkley. Pick the day or the hour, and he’ll say something else in a tour that is part Kardashian, part lousy lounge act and always uproarious.

In his latest missive, he says he’s unhappy with U.K. fans. He warns that he might just leave.

“They had their chance,’’ Fury told the U.K.’s Sunday Times. “They didn’t treat me well.’’

If that’s goodbye to the U.K., then watch out America. He might be saying more than just hello. He might be moving in.

“Over here (in the United States), I get treated like a superstar,” Fury said.

Who’s that 6-foot-9 heavyweight boxer and master showman behind that mask? Ethan Miller / Getty Images

Then, of course, there were reasons – mostly words – to wonder whether Fury is serious. A heavyweight with a solid feint is pretty good at the rhetorical head fake.

He told the Sunday Times that he is weary of celebrity while also hard at work generating as much of it as he can.

As he waits on a projected rematch with Deontay Wilder in February, Fury has been selling his autobiography, “Behind the Mask”. He has had a role in a pro wrestling show in Saudi Arabia and talked about going into mixed martial arts. He’s also doing his own four-part television documentary, “Meet The Furys”.

He’s doing he documentary, he said, “so people can see the real Tyson Fury.’’

But then, he said: “I hate fame.’’

Really.

“When I got to a big city it’s just a nightmare,’’ he said. “Torture. Honestly, the only bit I enjoy is going to the gym. That’s what makes me happy. Everything else is just what I’ve got to do.”

The only thing for certain: He’s doing it just about everywhere.