Fury’s Next Fight Will Be ‘Game Changer’ For The Sport

Fury’s promoter Frank Warren teased the possibility of a very unusual fight announcement incoming from ‘The Gypsy King.’ Could we be seeing a mixed-rules bout against Francis Ngannou?

Is Tyson Fury seriously considering a mixed rules bout against a top name in MMA?

For the past two months it looked like Fury’s 2023 was set — he’d fight some schlub over the late summer to stay busy and then fly to Saudi Arabia to fight Oleksandr Usyk in December. But new reports have Fury no longer competing on the December card. And now Fury’s promoter Frank Warren has come out and said Tyson’s next fight announcement will change the sport of boxing as we know it.

“I think what is going to happen, and it’s a bold move that Tyson’s done, I think will be a serious game-changer and you’ll see why when it’s announced,” Warren said (via The Mac Life). “This has been an up-and-down year because of the expectation levels and when fights are going to take place but it will happen… a game-changer for Tyson.”

In an interview with The Daily Mail, Warren said the big Saudi Arabia fight with Fury was being moved forward to first quarter of 2024.

“It’ll liven up, stop all this nonsense,” he said. “Skills Challenge, the Saudi company, have done brilliantly, put some good stuff on. Fighters are really up for what they’ve done. But it has also disrupted the business. They’ve said to themselves ‘Go and have fights and then we’ll do these fights later on.’”

Asked specifically if Fury might fight Francis Ngannou or Jon Jones, Warren wouldn’t say but did comment on the financial viability of those kinds of matchups.

“They’re fights that people buy, and buy into, and if it’s there to be done and it makes sense, you’d do it,” he said. “What I’m seeing at the moment is people going crazy for guys who have not had any amateur background, YouTuber guys, and they’re buying into it big time. If it’s there, people will buy into it.”

As for what Warren wants?

“All I want for Tyson, I want him to unify the titles,” he said. “I want him to have that.”