(Oct. 10, 2023) — The combat sports crossover event of the millennium will be beamed stateside from halfway around the globe.
WBC & lineal heavyweight boxing world champion Tyson “The Gypsy King” Fury is set to go toe- to-toe with lineal MMA heavyweight world champion Francis Ngannou on Saturday, Oct. 28 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 Top Rank on ESPN+ PPV, an all-heavyweight extravaganza, will also feature:
- Undefeated British standouts Fabio Wardley (16-0, 15 KOs) and David Adeleye (12-0, 11 KOs) facing off in a 12-rounder. The Wardley-Adeleye rivalry hit new heights at the Fury-Ngannou press conference in London last month, as the fighters and their camps brawled on the red carpet. The melee left Wardley with cuts above his left eye and under his chin.
- Former heavyweight world champion Joseph Parker (32-3, 22 KOs), a New Zealand-born veteran who trains with Fury, will fight Canadian knockout artist Simon Kean (23-1, 22 KOs) in a 10-rounder.
- Arslanbek Makhmudov (17-0, 16 KOs), a 260-plus pound power puncher fighting out of Montreal, Canada, will fight the upset-minded Junior Anthony Wright (20-4-1, 17 KOs) in a 10-rounder. Wright replaces Agron Smakici, who withdrew from the contest.
- Moses Itauma (5-0, 3 KOs), Great Britain’s 18-year-old heavyweight hopeful, will see action in a six-rounder.
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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.