Tyson Fury has told Rio Ferdinand that losing to Francis Ngannou would be just as humiliating as Manchester United’s 7-0 thumping by Liverpool last season.
The Gypsy King is set to face the former UFC heavyweight champion in a crossover bout in Saudi Arabia on October 28.
Fury, who is undefeated in 34 professional fights, is the resounding favourite to beat Ngannou who is stepping inside the boxing ring for the very first time.
Ahead of next month’s fight, Fury was quizzed by Rio Ferdinand for TNT Sports Boxing, and he left the Manchester United legend in stitches after comparing what a defeat to Ngannou would be like.
When asked what threat Ngannou poses, Fury responded: ‘He’s about 6ft 5in tall, he’s about 278 pounds, he’s about 18 or 19 stone, a dynamite puncher with both hands, he’s recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the hardest puncher to have ever punched anything, so there’s that risk.
Tyson Fury was interviewed by Rio Ferdinand for TNT Sports Boxing ahead of his crossover bout with Francis Ngannou
Fury left the Manchester United legend in stitches after comparing a defeat to Ngannou to the Red Devils’ 7-0 thumping at the hands of Liverpool last season
The defeat to their biggest rivals in March was their heaviest ever loss in the Premier League
‘The biggest risk of all is, fighting a MMA fighter and I’m the world heavyweight champion, so what happens if he beats me? Ridiculed.
‘It would be like getting beat by Liverpool for Manchester United, 7-0, wouldn’t it? How do you come back from that?’
The Red Devils were humiliated by their biggest rivals when the two sides met on March 5 at Anfield.
Cody Gakpo, Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah all scored braces, with now former Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino putting the icing on the cake with a late seventh.
It was Manchester United’s biggest ever Premier League defeat, and their worst loss since Erik ten Hag became manager in 2022.
Fury is a fan of Manchester United, but while that loss might be painful for him as a supporter, losing to Ngannou would hurt more for the undefeated world heavyweight champion.
In response to Ferdinand asking if it is good to have that risk element to boxing, Fury said: ‘All of these opponents I face, they are all risky fights, or are all big men – like anyone over 14 stone is a big man.
‘All of these guys are big lumps and when I fight them the risk is always the same, they’ve got a puncher’s chance. But I never leave a stone unturned.
The 7-0 defeat at Anfield will long be a painful memory for Man United players and fans
Defeat to Ngannou would be a painful one for Fury to take given his unbeaten record and with his opponent taking to the boxing ring for the first time since his switch from MMA
‘That’s one thing I do. I always do everything I can in my power to be successful. The way I look at it is, if this guy is going to beat me then fair play to him I will shake his hand, he must be a good fighter because I’m no easy man to beat as I’ve shown over the years.
‘So if I can bump into somebody that can beat me, I would say “fantastic, fair play to you, well done,” take them for a beer and that’s it.’
Watch the full interview on TNT Sports 1 at 3.15pm this Saturday. Fury v Ngannou will be exclusively live from Riyadh Season, Saudi Arabia on TNT Sports Box Office, Saturday 28th October, for more info visit tntsports.co.uk/boxoffice