Tyson Fury may have said farewell to professional boxing after his demolition of WBC mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte last month but the ‘Gypsy King’ hasn’t turned down the idea of him fighting the UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in a crossover format.
The talks of Fury fighting Ngannou have been going on for a while now, with the UFC contestant raising severe reservations regarding the paycheck issued by the promotion.
Likewise, many UFC fighters have raised voices against them being underpaid than the other combat athletes.
Fury bagged over $30 million in his last fight with Whyte receiving $8.2 million. The UK promoter Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions outbid Matchroom boxing at the purse bid table with a record $41 million to secure the rights to air Fury-Whyte.
While in comparison, Ngannou reportedly just received $600,000 for his title defense against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January.
Warren was in attendance during a recent media lunch in London where he shared his thoughts on a possible Fury-Ngannou clash and whether he would be involved in such a promotion.
“Would I be involved? We’re his worldwide promoter outside the U.S,” Warren said.
“He’s smart. He’s been very smart in what he’s done with his trainers. He got Ben Davison involved with him when he felt he had to lose the weight and when it come down to the nitty gritty, he got on board Sugar Hill.”
“He’s a smart individual and whatever he decided to do will be for the benefit of himself and his family and that’s how it should be,” Warren added.
Lately, UFC president Dana White has been feeling the wrath of many fighters with many of them believing that they are not paid as much as they should be.
But unlike others, Warren applauded White for his efforts to make the company a huge success as it is today.
“I think what Dana White has done there is phenomenal. He’s built something out of nothing. He’s had a blank piece of paper, he’s built it. It’s a great business now IMG have got it,” Warren said.
“I don’t know what that model is. These guys sign up for it, they sign up to fight in UFC. They’ve got advisors, that’s their choice. For me boxers at the top level have always been the biggest paid sportsmen at their level. You only got to look at Forbes over the last god knows how many years. The highest paid guys have been Mayweather, Pacquiao.”