In the latest boxing news, Cristiano Ronaldo threw a light-hearted punch at Tyson Fury as the footballer was in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the night before the Francis Ngannou fight.

The two will face each other on October 28th, 2023, in a crossover fight that has gotten the attention of many around the world. And one of those was CR7 himself.

The footballer is a legend in his own right by arguably being one of the best footballers to have ever done it. But when it came to the actual fight, Ronaldo has had his input on it.

Ronaldo had gifted Ngannou an £87,000 Jacob & Co, showing that there is mutual respect for the MMA fighter. And that was reciprocated in the following video below as Ngannou showed off the watch.

Ronaldo’s Gift To Ngannou

On Instagram, Francis Ngannou expresses gratitude towards Cristiano Ronaldo for presenting him with a CR7 branded watch worth nearly half a million SAR.pic.twitter.com/lY0n8aqG9L

— CR7's PR manager (@RONALDOthabeast) October 23, 2023

The post was captioned by the following comments: "Got to pick up my new watch ahead of fight week here in Riyadh. Thank you @jacobandco Riyadh & my brother @cristiano."

Outside of that, Ronaldo has spoken about being a massive fan of combat sports. And in a choice between football and combat sports, Ronaldo did admit that he had a preference for the latter.

Ronaldo On Combat Sports

"Playing football is my passion, but I prefer watching other sports on TV. Between watching a football match or a boxing or UFC fight, I choose boxing or UFC. I don’t think I could have been a boxer, it’s tough. You have to be born for that, with that gift. I think I was born to be a professional footballer, I thought I had that gift from the beginning, and I said to myself: “I’m going to grab this opportunity with my hands.

"When I was at Manchester United, a coach boxed with me. I think practicing boxing is useful for football because it sharpens your senses and you learn to move. Boxing is a little more difficult because you are alone when you compete. You work in the gym, you have your team, but they then they don’t play with you, they just train with you. In our case it’s different, it’s more fun because we train, we laugh, it’s a different kind of sacrifice," Ronaldo

Ronaldo And Fury

With that being said, the encounter with Fury raised talking points in more ways than one. The Gypsy King is known for being an ardent fan on Manchester United, which is why meeting one of the club’s greatest players will live long in the memory.

However, this is something that CR7 has done with Ngannou, showing a real desire for the sport. In the following image, the two can be seen with facing each other with a real look of intent.

CR7 ❎ Tyson Fury 😮‍💨

Two legends collide 👑

📸 @trboxing #BattleOfTheBaddest #FuryNgannou pic.twitter.com/6Fl0YhB559

— Boxing on TNT Sports (@boxingontnt) October 27, 2023

That was then followed up by another clip, showing Ronaldo throwing a mock punch at the heavyweight, as the pair then exchanged some warm words backstage.

Just two GOATs 🐐⚽️🥊@Cristiano Ronaldo takes a swipe at @Tyson_Fury 😅#BattleOfTheBaddest | #FuryNgannou | Saturday, 6PM | Live on TNT Sports Box Office pic.twitter.com/SZR5tcRmqE

— Boxing on TNT Sports (@boxingontnt) October 27, 2023

Fury: "Cristiano, you’re the greatest footballer that’s ever lived, and I mean that. I’m a big fan, I watch all the football, I watched you when you were at United, the first time, second time, all of the Real Madrid, everything.

Ronaldo: "But you’ve never been to the stadium?"

Fury: "I come to the stadium but I get very much tortured while I’m there, so it’s very difficult for me."

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