Papa John’s Lost The Plot (And His Shirt)

Put your shirt on (or join a gym).

WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and former UFC 265-pound titleholder Francis Ngannou came face-to-face at the conclusion of their fight week press conference earlier today in Riyadh, staged in advance of their upcoming ESPN+ pay-per-view (PPV) super fight on Sat. (Oct. 28, 2023) from Boulevard Hall in Saudi Arabia.

Fury’s father John Fury — no stranger to press conference shenanigans — also ripped his shirt off and joined the pre-fight face off, for reasons not quite understood. I doubt the power-punching “Predator” was even remotely intimidated by the shirtless tag team.

Watch the press conference video replay here.

“There should be only one winner, the boxer, because he’s been boxing his whole life at a high level,” famed boxing trainer Teddy Atlas said on YouTube. “So I’m here to say, yeah, it might be one-sided. It might turn out that way, just like (Conor) McGregor vs. (Floyd) Mayweather could’ve turned out that way, but I’m not so sure.”

“Ngannou has the power to hurt anyone, including Fury who has an unbelievable chin, who’s been dropped by the biggest puncher in (Deontay) Wilder a few times, and he’s gotten up,” Atlas continued. “So he’s got a great chin and a great constitution, a great heart does Fury. Just great, just great. You have to applaud him for that. But Ngannou has shown stout toughness also when he’s been tested, when he’s been on the floor and being threatened to be submitted and he hasn’t. That shows a resolve right there, that you can keep the devil at the door and not give in to compromising yourself.”

See the entire “Fury vs. Ngannou” fight card and PPV lineup here.

ESPN sportscaster Joe Tessitore will handle “Fury vs. Ngannou” play-by-play with color commentary from Hall of Fame boxer Timothy Bradley Jr., alongside media personalities Bernardo Osuna and Brett Okamoto.

For much more on this weekend’s “Fury vs. Ngannou” event click here.