Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is enjoying every moment as he gets set for his huge cross-codes boxing match with Tyson Fury, but he made clear he’s not showing up for a playful spar with boxing’s lineal heavyweight champion of the world.
Ngannou takes on Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 28 in a bout billed as “The Battle of the Baddest” as the former UFC heavyweight king steps across into boxing to take on the toughest challenge possible.
Speaking ahead of the matchup, “The Predator” looked very much at home, as he shared his enthusiasm for the bout, and the event as a whole.
“I am very excited. I am very happy,” he told specially invited guests and media, including Boxing Junkie, at the launch press conference for the event in London, England.
“I have been dreaming of becoming a boxer since I was a kid. And today, I’m not just going to box; I’m going to box the guy at the peak of the mountain.”
The matchup offers a historic clash of champions, with the lineal heavyweight champions of boxing and MMA going head to head in a huge event, with the event kicking off a huge program of entertainment events – Riyadh Season – in the Saudi capital.
“Usually, I would not pay attention to what is going around. But this thing is so big that I can’t stop thinking about it. History is going to be made,” Ngannou explained.
“It’s something that I didn’t see coming, even though my dream was always there. I always hoped for it to happen some day. But I didn’t see it lay out this way as one of the biggest events of the world.
“This is not just a fight. We are going to open up Riyadh Season. So, it is a cultural event that we are fighting on. And we’ll just make this fight bigger and bigger.”
And, while scores of media members and pundits are predicting an easy win for Fury on fight night, Ngannou promised that he would step through the ropes for his first professional boxing match and give “The Gypsy King” everything he can handle in search of an upset victory.
“Nobody knows exactly what’s going to happen,” Ngannou stated.
“But what I do know for sure is that I’m going to be out there hunting for that guy’s head to take it off. I can guarantee that.”
Photo credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank via Getty Images