Tyson Fury may have retired from boxing but the ‘King of Gypsy’ is still interested in participating in combat sports, notably his fight with UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
Boxing and Octagon heavyweights have long talked about going head-to-head in their respective disciplines or in a crossover format. Along with a potential appearance at another WWE event, it looks like Fury could still be in the public eye over the next 12 months.
At a recent media lunch, UK promoter Frank Warren was asked about Fury’s odds against Ngannou and whether he would be involved in such a promotion.
“Will I join? Warren said. “He is intelligent. He was very smart in what he did with his coaches. He enlisted Ben Davison to join him when he felt he had to lose weight, and when it got bad, he boarded the Sugar Hill train.
“All I can do is give him the benefit of my advice. All I’m going to tell him is what I feel he should do but I’m not saying you should do this… I wouldn’t even try to get there. He is an intelligent individual and whatever he decides to do will be for the good of himself and his family and that is the right thing to do.”
A controversial topic that continues to be the amount of money UFC fighters receive. Fury’s final bout against WBC mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte came after Warren (Queensberry Promotions) beat Matchroom in the bid for a record $41 million. More than $30 million went to the champion with Whyte receiving $8.2 million. Meanwhile, Francis Ngannou is reported to have received $600,000 for his title defense against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January.
Frank Warren was asked if he thinks the UFC pays their fighters less. The veteran promoter declined to criticize the company and instead praised President Dana White.
“I don’t know what that model is. These people sign up for it, they sign up to fight in the UFC. They have advisors, it’s their choice. To me, the highest-level boxers have always been the highest-paid athletes at their level. You can only look at Forbes through the last god knows how many years. The highest paid people are Mayweather, Pacquiao. I think Tyson is up there, even Joshua. They are well-paid people. I don’t know what they are [UFC fighters] get. All I know is that, quite rightly, boxers are paid a large amount of money.
“I think what Dana White did there was phenomenal. He created something out of nothing. He had a blank sheet of paper, he built it. It was a great business now IMG got it. I don’t think any of their boys will beat any of our best men. That is another discipline. I don’t know if our boys will beat them in a cage but since it’s a boxing match I don’t know if any of them will beat ours. I’m not saying it disparagingly or taking anything away from them, they are all amazing and highly trained athletes. ”
