Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou crossed paths for this first time since their Battle of the Baddest clash in Saudi Arabia last year.
The pair were seen shaking hands at the Joy Awards, which took place at The Boulevard in Riyadh on Saturday January 20.
Fury, who was wearing one of his custom made Navid Salimian suits, joked about Ngannou’s size after the exchange.
Turning to the camera, the Gypsy King said: ‘He’s a big fella isn’t he?’ before joking and laughing with those around him.
Meanwhile, the former UFC heavyweight champion smiled and gave a thumbs up to the camera before turning back around.
Fury and Ngannou crossed paths for this first time since their Battle of the Baddest clash
Fury won the Battle of the Baddest bout via split decision but it was far from convincing
The 2024 Joy Awards were organised by Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, which is chaired by Turki AlAlShikh.
His excellency is the same man that has arranged the Battle of the Baddest, the Day of Reckoning, the Ring of Fire and Knockout Chaos.
He has successfully pitted some of the biggest names in boxing against each other, with Fury’s next bout set to see him take on Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed title.
The Gypsy King will go toe-to-toe with Usyk in Saudi Arabia on February 17 to unify the division for the first time since Lennox Lewis beat Evander Holyfield in 1999.
However, Fury will be looking to put on a better performance than he did against the former UFC heavyweight champion in October 2023.
Fury won the Battle of the Baddest bout via split decision but it was far from convincing, with ‘The Predator’ knocking the WBC champion down in the third round.
Fury tried to land a right hand on the MMA heavyweight but Ngannou countered well and caught him on the temple with a huge left hook, sending him thudding to the canvas.
Many punters felt Ngannou did enough across the 10 round contest to win the fight and said that the Cameroonian had been ‘robbed’ to protect Fury’s fight with Usyk in February.
The former UFC heavyweight champion knocked the Gypsy King down in the third round
The 2024 Joy Awards were organised by Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, which is chaired by Turki AlAlShikh (pictured on the left)
However, the majority of boxing experts agreed that Fury was the rightful winner on the night – just edging past the Cameroonian after one of his more disappointing performances.
Nevertheless, Ngannou walked away from the bout in Saudi Arabia with a massive amount of credit and established himself as a worthwhile contender in the heavyweight division.
As a result, Ngannou has managed to secure a bout with Anthony Joshua next. Their fight will take take place in Saudi Arabia on March 8.
The British heavyweight was originally meant to fight Deontay Wilder, only for their bout to collapse after the American’s defeat to Joseph Parker at the ‘Day of Reckoning’ card just before Christmas.
The judges scored Wilder’s bout 118-111, 120-108, 120-108 in the Kiwi’s favour to derail a possible bout with Joshua – who beat Swedish boxer Otto Wallin on in the same night.
Therefore, Joshua has agreed to fight Ngannou after taking an interest in the former UFC star following the news he had broken into the WBC’s top 10 heavyweight rankings.
The pair will go toe-to-toe on March 8, with the winner set to face the winner of Fury’s bout with Usyk.
Ngannou (on the right) has managed to secure a bout with Anthony Joshua (on the left) next
The pair will go toe-to-toe on March 8, with the winner set to face the winner of Fury vs Usyk
The Gypsy King will go toe-to-toe with Usyk in Saudi Arabia on February 17 to unify the division for the first time since Lennox Lewis beat Evander Holyfield in 1999