Francis Ngannou gives a fiery reaction to Tyson Fury fighting Oleksandr Usyk next instead of giving him a rematch
Francis Ngannou is not happy about Tyson Fury booking an undisputed fight against Oleksandr Usyk next and recently slammed the Englishman for not granting him a rematch. Ngannou made his professional boxing debut against Fury last month, with 'The Gypsy King' winning via a razor-sharp split decision.
Fury is set to face Usyk in the squared circle on February 17 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. While the Ukrainian pugilist holds the WBO, WBA, and IBF heavyweight titles, the Englishman has the WBC heavyweight championship.
As per the rules, the winner of this contest will be known as the first undisputed heavyweight champion in the four-belt era. London-born Lennox Lewis was the last undisputed heavyweight champion, having defended the WBA, WBC, and IBF titles against Evander Holyfield in 1999.
Given what's at stake for the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk fight, it's no surprise that combat sports fans eagerly look forward to seeing the two boxing juggernauts clash in the ring. However, Francis Ngannou isn't among them and recently hit out at 'The Gypsy King' for dodging a rematch.
Taking to X, the former UFC heavyweight champion reacted to news of the Fury-Usyk fight in February and wrote:
"Fury hasn’t thought about our fight since October because you don’t dwell on losses."
Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk: 'The Gypsy King' confident about securing a knockout victory
Francis Ngannou pushing Tyson Fury to his limits during their boxing match in October didn't affect the Englishman's confidence at all. 'The Gypsy King' promised to finish Oleksandr Usyk via knockout and hurled a handful of colorful insults at the Ukrainian boxing champion.
The two heavyweight champions recently came face-to-face at a pre-fight press conference in London. During the presser, Usyk's promoter attempted to thank Fury for showing up and accepting the fight. However, the Englishman wasn't interested in pleasantries and went off on a tirade against Usyk.
Vowing to relieve Oleksandr Usyk of his belts just like he did to the Ukrainian's fellow countryman Wladimir Klitschko in 2015, Tyson Fury said:
"You're welcome to be sharing a ring with the future undisputed heavyweight champion, me. You are all dossers, he's getting knocked out... I already relieved one Ukrainian of all the belts, and I'll relieve that idiot of all the belts I gave him, including that Ring Magazine I only vacated last year."
He continued:
"You know what's coming, you're getting smashed to pieces. You're fighting the best British heavyweight there's ever been. You beat all the rest of them, but you ain't beat Tyson Fury, sausage."