RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (Oct. 26, 2023) – The combat sports crossover event of the millennium is only two days away.
WBC & lineal heavyweight boxing world champion Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury and lineal MMA heavyweight world champion Francis Ngannou will lock horns this Saturday, Oct. 28, at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The long-awaited battle of behemoths kicks off Riyadh Season, one of the world’s leading entertainment festivals, which runs throughout the winter months in the Kingdom’s largest city.
Promoted by Queensberry, Top Rank and GIMIK Fight Promotions, the Fury-Ngannou card will stream live on Top Rank on ESPN+ PPV in the United States beginning at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT. Priced at $79.99 across all distributors, it also will be available via cable and satellite pay-per-view providers.
The pay-per-view undercard, an all-heavyweight affair, features a 12-round showdown between undefeated British standouts Fabio Wardley (16-0, 15 KOs) and David Adeleye (12-0, 11 KOs), along with a 10-round battle between former heavyweight world champion Joseph Parker (32-3, 22 KOs) and Canadian knockout artist Simon Kean (23-1, 22 KOs).
Montreal-based wrecking ball Arslanbek Makhmudov (17-0, 16 KOs) will take on the upset-minded Junior Anthony Wright (20-4-1, 17 KOs) in a 10-round clash, and Moses Itauma (5-0, 3 KOs) will open the pay-per-view broadcast in a six-rounder against Istvan Bernath (10-1, 8 KOs).
At Thursday’s press conference, an eventful show that included an animated John Fury (Tyson’s father), this is what the fighters had to say:
Tyson Fury
“It’s absolutely unbelievable to be out here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To be top of the bill, the main event, is even more special. We’ve all got a lot to be thankful for. We’ve all come a long way to be here. This has all happened in a short space of time. And to see it all unfold is really amazing.”
“Francis Ngannou is a big man. I see he’s taken a bit of advice from me with the clothes he’s wearing. He’s looking a bit snazzy. They say the finest form of flattery is imitation. And he’s got his suit on with no shirt on, and I started that! So, he’s imitating. But, there’s one thing I say, and it’s that many will imitate, but no one will ever replicate. Because there’s only one Gypsy King.”
“How do I prepare for a guy like this? It’s pretty difficult, but in America, we say a statement like this, ‘I’m gonna knock a motherf***er out!’ And that’s how we do it. I’ve been working with SugarHill {Steward} to knock him out cold on Saturday night, and I have no doubt in my mind that I will knock him out.”
“He’s a big, strong guy. Obviously, he’s got a good punch. But so am I. I’m a big, strong guy. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be the world heavyweight champion. But I believe there’s levels to the game. And he’s going to find out my level on Saturday night.”
Francis Ngannou
“This is a dream come true. And I remember four years ago, when I first met Mike Tyson, my only request was for him to be in my corner if I fight Tyson Fury. People thought I was losing it. They thought I was crazy. They thought it would never happen. But here we are. The fight is happening. So, I’m living a dream. This has always been my dream. It wasn’t easy, but we are here.”
“I want to thank Tyson Fury for taking the fight and taking this risk because there is a lot of risk here for him. He might go to sleep on Saturday night. But I appreciate his courage, and I thank him.”
“This camp has been different from my past camps. It’s a different experience, a different beast. I was aware that there was a mountain in front of me, so that’s why we started the camp a lot earlier. And it went well, but having somebody like Mike Tyson around and my coach Dewey Cooper was very helpful in terms of approaching this fight.”
“We got Mike Tyson in, and the first thing he said that stuck in my mind is when he said, ‘Listen, he has two hands and two feet like you.’ And I got that. And that’s enough for Saturday night. Tyson Fury is definitely the best in boxing, but that’s stopping on Saturday night.”
David Adeleye
“Saturday night is two days away. The talking is done now. We’ll see how tough he is.”
“He’s not the same as me. I see his mannerisms and how he carries himself. We just ain’t the same. But I don’t really take it all in. What matters is what happens on fight night. What he does other than that doesn’t really bother me.”
“What’s going to happen when I take him into deep waters? I know he’s never faced a banger like me. I don’t think, I know.”
“It’s nothing towards him personally. I just hate how he talks, and he talks like he’s a seasoned pro. The man has had 16 fights, I don’t really understand.”
“He’s got no boxing ability. He can only fight one way, and that’s walking forward. He’s got no boxing I.Q. I can back up and I know Wardley will follow me. He’s not intelligent enough to see that I’m setting traps. And on Saturday night, you will see that.”
Fabio Wardley
“It’s a very special stage for a very special night. There is a lot to look forward to on this card, but I think the fight with me and David has captured a lot of eyes. A lot of people are interested. And I’m looking forward to having a big night.”
“He hasn’t faced anyone of any worth or of any level, so there’s nothing there for me to look at and say ‘Okay, maybe he has shown this or that.’ There’s nothing I’ve seen that has made me consider that, so it’s all smoke and mirrors for me.”
“I’d say I’ll be the first man to beat him, but I think there was someone else on his record who pretty much beat him, but he did well to get home a home decision, so maybe I’ll be the first on record. But I think it’s been seen by quite a wide audience in the boxing community that there are flaws there that have been exploited. And when it gets hot, like he says, he thinks he knows how to swim, but when he was drowning before, he didn’t know what to do.”
Joseph Parker
“Even if I were fighting Tyson Fury, I don’t think there’s any more that we could have done in camp. We’ve trained very hard for Simon Kean. And we respect him as a fighter. We know that he’s got a lot of knockouts, so we’ve done everything in our power to be as prepared as we can be for this challenge.”
“I’m going to follow the plan that Andy Lee says and punch his face.”
Simon Kean
“This is a big challenge for me. This week, Joseph said he wants to knock me out. Of course he wants to knock me out, and I want to knock him out, too. That’s boxing. I know I have a big challenge and that I will need a great performance to get the win, but I had a really great training camp and I’m ready to shock the world.”
Arslanbek Makhmudov
“He has good defense. He’s fast. He’s not as tall as my other opponents, so that’s going to be a good change for me. I can’t ever say that I will score the knockout, but I will just do my best and everything will come from that. I’m going to give a good performance.”
Junior Anthony Wright
“I’m in the gym all the time. I work out like I’ve got nothing else to do. I took advantage of the situation, and here I am. It’s definitely going to be a good fight because I am a puncher as well. It’s going to be one of the best fights.”
Moses Itauma
“I’m not going to go in there and look for the KO. But obviously, I’m going to go in there and try my best. And hopefully the KO comes. At the end of the day, nobody can predict the future, but if I go in there and do 100 percent, then I’ll come out victorious.”
Saturday, October 28
Top Rank on ESPN+ PPV (2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT)
Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou, 10 rounds, heavyweight
Fabio Wardley vs. David Adeleye, 12 rounds, heavyweight
Joseph Parker vs. Simon Kean, 10 rounds, heavyweight
Arslanbek Makhmudov vs. Junior Anthony Wright, 10 rounds, heavyweight
Moses Itauma vs. Istvan Bernath, 6 rounds, heavyweight
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About Riyadh Season:
Saudi Arabia’s capital embraces one of the world’s biggest entertainment events every year during winter. Since the launch of the Riyadh Season in 2019, the festival has welcomed visitors from all over the world to experience thousands of concerts, sporting events, dining experiences and other unique cultural events. In 2023, Riyadh Season will commence on Saturday, 28 October with a spectacular opening ceremony and an historic boxing match between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou.
