Zhang Slams Fury For Fighting Ngannou

Zhilei Zhang has slammed Tyson Fury for choosing to fight Francis Ngannou. 

The ‘Gypsy King’ will face the former UFC heavyweight champion on October 28th, 2023, as Ngannou makes his boxing debut.

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The news arrived in the aftermath of the breakdown in talks between Fury and Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world. This was despite the Ukrainian agreeing to a 70-30 split against him. 

And given that Fury could have faced another boxer rather than fighting Ngannou, Zhang had a few choice words to say about it. 

"When you look at Tyson Fury – he avoided Joshua, he avoided Usyk. He chose to fight somebody who has never been in the ring before.

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"[Ngannou] is a novice, he’s just turning pro. Yes he’s a UFC champion and I have respect for him, but when it comes to the ring it’s a different story. So Tyson Fury I think is a disgrace to the sport of boxing. Shame on him," Zhang

But for all of Zhang’s criticism, the boxer must focus on the task ahead. He is set to face Joe Joyce on September 23rd, 2023, in a rematch where the Brit is looking to enact his revenge. 

Zhang stopped Joyce in their first bout after his opponent’s eye swelled up to the point where the referee stopped the fight. In the process of doing so, Zhang became the WBO interim heavyweight champion.

In the aftermath, he targeted a bout with Fury only for Joyce to then exercise his rematch clause. But provided that Zhang beats Joyce, a fight with Fury could emerge. 

"My team were in conversations with Tyson Fury’s team, we were very close to making that fight before the rematch clause was activated. I believe that fight [with Fury] is going to happen, one way or another," Fury

Zhang and Fury’s next bouts will be crucial moving forward. And if they manage to come out as victors, then a mega clash could be on the way. Time will tell how it all plays out moving forward.

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