Tyson Fury Not Hesitant to ‘Stand and Trade’ With Francis Ngannou

Tyson Fury doesn’t give much credence to the proverbial “puncher’s chance,” even from one of the hardest punchers in combat sports.

“The Gypsy King” (33-0-1) is all set for a boxing clash against former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou (0-0 boxing; 17-3 MMA) on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ngannou currently holds the world record for the hardest punch after recording 129,161 units on a PowerKube to surpass the previous mark, set by kickboxing legend Tyrone Spong. Given the fact that Ngannou has secured 12 of his 17 career wins via knockout, even Fury’s own promoter Bob Arum believes it might not be a good idea to stand and trade with “The Predator.” However, Fury is supremely confident about engaging in a slugfest against absolutely anybody. Referring to Arum’s comments, Fury said during a recent presser (h/t MMA Junkie):

“Behave yourself, I can stand and trade with anybody. I stood and traded with [Deontay] Wilder, I stood and traded with Vladimir [Klitschko], I’ll stand and trade with this little b**ch.”

Fury also noted that he has already notched two wins over Wilder, considered by many to be the heaviest puncher in boxing. According to the heavyweight champ, Ngannou can lay claim to the hardest hitter title only if he emerges victorious in Riyadh. He added, “Well, I haven’t had a go at punching so. He ain’t beat me. I have beat the actual biggest puncher in boxing and knocked him out. So yeah, until he beats me, he can only ever dream about that record. The biggest puncher in combat sports, me.”

However, just because Fury claims he can stand and trade with the Cameroonian doesn’t mean he will. The Brit might just opt to put on a technical masterclass in pugilism. The 35-year-old said, “I might give them a knockout, I might give them a slick master boxing performance, not let the ugly man touch me once. That would be unbelievable, wouldn’t it? Come out and start dancing, tripling the jab like Apollo Creed, stickin’ and move Rocky, stickin’ and move. Bums brawl don’t they? You can go to a pub and see two big lumps knocking the sh*t out of each other. But what I can do is only a gift from God. Not many people can do what I can do, twist and move, bend, treble that jab, follow four right hands behind it, slip and counter with me hands down.”