Fury v Ngannou: Start time, undercard, how to watch it – and why the cross-over fight is happening

Published

7 months ago

October 20, 2023

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The so-called “Battle of the Baddest” will see boxing champion Tyson Fury take on MMA great Francis Ngannou in a spectacle featuring two fighters at the top of their fields.

It will mark former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou’s first boxing bout – and he’s starting against a man considered by many to be the best of his weight class in undefeated lineal and WBC heavyweight champion Fury.

The highly anticipated 10-round showdown is a non-title fight, yet Fury claims there is more on the line for him now than in any of his previous battles.

Here’s everything you need to know about the fight.

When and where is it?

Fury and Ngannou will face off on Saturday 28 October in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with undercard coverage starting at 6pm UK time.

The main event ring walks are expected to start at roughly 10.40pm.

Who’s on the undercard?

Another major clash is due to take place at the show, between Fabio Wardley (16-0) and David Adeleye (12-0) for the British heavyweight title. Former WBO heavyweight world champion Joseph Parker will also take on Canada’s Simon Kean.

The rest of the fights expected on the undercard are:

Arslanbek Makhmudov v Junior Anthony Wright; Heavyweight

Moses Itauma v Istvan Bernath; Heavyweight

Carlos Takam v Martin Bakole; Heavyweight

Jack McGann v Alcibiade Duran Galvan; Super welterweight

About the fighters

Anyone with even a marginal interest in the sport will be familiar with the self-proclaimed “Gypsy King”, Tyson Fury.

The six-foot-nine heavyweight, who has a record of 33-0-1 (24 KOs), briefly became unified heavyweight champion in 2015, when he toppled longstanding holder Wladimir Klitschko.

He was later stripped of two of those titles and vacated the three others during a period in which he suffered from mental health issues leading to alcoholism, recreational drug use and extreme weight gain.

But he went on to compete in one of the great ever boxing trilogies, against American Deontay Wilder, winning the WBC title back in the second of those bouts.

The 35-year-old more recently beat Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora in front of record-breaking crowds in London.

Cameroonian-French Ngannou reached similar heights in his UFC career, knocking out one of the greatest heavyweights in UFC history, Stipe Miocic, in 2021 to become the UFC’s first-ever heavyweight champion from Africa.

The 37-year-old was stripped of the title after leaving the UFC in January, having failed to agree terms on a new contract.

He has not fought since he defeated Ciryl Gane by unanimous decision at UFC 270 in January 2022.

That win was Ngannou’s sixth in a row, adding to his record of 17-3-0.

While he will be dismissed by many as a boxing novice, the six-foot-four, 280-pound fighter is no stranger to the ring, having trained as a boxer for years before making it in MMA.

Heavyweight boxing icon Mike Tyson is training him up for the encounter.

Why the cross-over?

While Ngannou is far from a nobody, he certainly would not have been the first opponent fans thought of when Fury was looking for his next challenge after beating Dereck Chisora last December by technical knockout.

But the fight was sanctioned by the WBC after Fury’s efforts to make an undisputed championship fight with Oleksandr Usyk, the of the WBA, WBO and IBF titles, failed.

There was also speculation around fights with contenders such as Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz before he agreed to the cross-over bout with Ngannou.

While both boxers have insisted it is not the case, some have speculated the money they will receive has been the deciding factor – with claims Ngannou coud earn more than £8m and Fury reported picking up £39m.

Fury’s next fight did not exactly come from nowhere, though. Straight after knocking out Dillian Whyte in April 2022, he pulled Ngannou into a post-fight interview in the ring.

He promised an “explosive fight” with Ngannou, who was UFC champion at that point.

The MMA fighter was receptive to the idea, although he clearly had different plans for the nature of the fight.

“It’s going to be a hybrid fight with different type of rules – you know, MMA gloves… like a mix-up… something a little different,” Ngannou said in the ring, as Fury nodded in apparent agreement.

The “hybrid” pitch never panned out, and it was later confirmed that the fight would take place under the official rules of professional boxing.

How to watch the coverage

TNT Sports will be showing the fight live on its pay-per-view service in the UK and Ireland.

Sky customers can purchase TNT Sports Box Office on channel 490 via their remote control or via www.sky.com/boxoffice/tnt-sports

Streaming service DAZN will be making the fight available on a pay-per-view basis in over 200 other countries.

What have Fury and Ngannou said?

Fury has been quick to dismiss suggestions that he can take this fight lightly due to his opponent’s lack of experience in the boxing ring, claiming there’s “more riding on this than there ever has been before.”

In a press conference last month, he said: “I only trained six weeks for Deontay Wilder – I’m training 12 weeks for Francis. I need to be on my A-game, because there’s more on the line now than a boxing fight.

“If I lose to a number one contender or another champion, then people would say, ‘oh, he lost to another champion.’

“But if I lost to an MMA guy, I’m never going to be able to show my face in public again. There’s going to be ridicule and people are going to chuck it in my face forever.

“There’s more riding on this than there ever has been before.

“Whether the media wants to take it as a joke or not, make no mistake, Tyson Fury will leave no stone unturned and I will come in at my fittest and strongest I’ve ever been to beat this man.

“If I’m not, and I get knocked out, I want you all to laugh at me. That’s what I want, because I would’ve deserved it.

“The man’s a machine and I’ll give 100% respect.”

“I’m very excited and happy,” Ngannou said. “I had a dream as a kid to become a boxer, and now I’m going to box a guy at the peak of the mountain.

“For me, usually I would not pay attention to what’s going on around me, but this is so big that I can’t stop thinking about it.

“History is about to be made in Riyadh on October 28. It’s something that I didn’t see coming, although my dream was that someday it would happen.

“It’s not just going to be a fight, we’re opening up Riyadh Season, so it’s a cultural event that we’re fighting in.

“Nobody knows exactly what’s going to happen, but what I do know for sure is that I’m going to be out there hunting for this guy’s head to take it off, I guarantee you that.”

‘I’d like to fight Ngannou in the cage’

Fury has also backed himself to beat Ngannou at his own game, in a future MMA fight.

“I’d like to fight Ngannou in the cage; I think I’d beat him for sure,” he said.

“He’s not a good jiu-jitsu man, he’s not a good wrestler. He’s known for striking and I’m a better striker than him. I’d knock him out in seconds. He’s more of a stand-up striker.”

Entertainment

P Diddy: Stars react to video showing rapper attacking Cassie Ventura in hotel hallway

Published

9 hours ago

May 20, 2024

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P Diddy: Stars react to video showing rapper attacking Cassie Ventura in hotel hallway

Stars have hit out at rapper P Diddy following the release of CCTV footage showing him attacking singer Cassie Ventura in a hotel hallway in 2016.

Warning: This story includes images readers may find distressing

The video, which was obtained by CNN, was shot on 5 March eight years ago and shows the 54-year-old – whose real name is Sean Combs – shirtless and wearing just a white towel and brightly coloured socks, punching and kicking Ventura.

The R&B singer, whose legal name is Cassandra Ventura, was his protege and girlfriend at the time.

The footage also shows Combs shoving and dragging her across the floor, as well as throwing a glass vase in her direction.

It closely resembles the description of an incident at the now-closed InterContinental Hotel in Los Angeles described in a lawsuit filed by Cassie last year.

Commenting on the video on X, formerly known as Twitter, actress Emily Ratajkowski, wrote: “Monster”.

Fellow rapper 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, shared the video, writing sarcastically: “Now I’m sure Puffy didn’t do it, he is innocent this proves nothing! This is what his lawyers are gonna say, God help us all.”

Jackson also re-posted a screenshot of a statement shared by Combs in December last year, denying allegations against him and accusing those making them of “looking for a quick payday”.

50 Cent wrote: “The lie detector test has determined this was a lie…”

He also shared a statement from LA police which called the footage “extremely disturbing and difficult to watch,” but explained that it happened too long ago to be prosecuted.

California law has a one-year statute of limitations for assault.

The husband of Ventura, Alex Fine, shared a lengthy statement on Instagram titled “Letter to women and children,” calling out men who perpetrate violence against women.

‘Men who hurt women hate women’

He wrote: “Men who hit women aren’t men. Men who enable it and protect those people aren’t men…

“Hold the women in your life with the utmost regard. Men who hurt women hate women.”

The personal trainer also shared the number of a domestic abuse helpline, urging those who need help to call.

Meanwhile, lawyers representing Ventura branded Combs’s apology “pathetic,” after he shared a short video on social media on Sunday, saying he was “truly sorry,” and was “disgusted” by his own behaviour.

‘Disingenuous words’

Meredith Firetog, who is a partner at Wigdor LLP, said in a statement: “Combs’ most recent statement is more about himself than the many people he has hurt.

“When Cassie and multiple other women came forward, he denied everything and suggested that his victims were looking for a payday.

“That he was only compelled to ‘apologize’ once his repeated denials were proven false shows his pathetic desperation, and no one will be swayed by his disingenuous words.”

‘Leave god and mercy out of this’

US singer and reality star Aubrey O’Day, who previously worked with Combs, also hit out at Combs’s apology video, writing on X: “Diddy did not apologize to Cassie. He apologized to the world for seeing what he did… Leave god and mercy out of this, they aren’t present here, and you know it.”

It is the first time Combs has responded directly to allegations of physical and sexual violence levelled at him in recent months.

Multiple claims

In March, his homes in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by Homeland Security as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation by federal authorities in New York.

In April, Combs was named in a lawsuit that alleges his son sexually assaulted a woman working on a yacht chartered by his father.

Ventura, who began dating Combs a few years after meeting him in 2005, and split with him in 2019, sued him in November, alleging she was trafficked, raped, plied with drugs and beaten by Combs over a 10-year period.

The lawsuit claimed he forced her to have sex with male prostitutes while he filmed them. The case was settled the day after it was filed.

Combs has previously denied the allegations in the lawsuits and his lawyers have said he denies any wrongdoing.

Entertainment

Sienna Miller walks the Cannes red carpet with daughter Marlowe

Published

10 hours ago

May 20, 2024

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Sienna Miller walks the Cannes red carpet with daughter Marlowe

Sienna Miller has walked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival with her daughter Marlowe Ottoline Layng Sturridge.

The 42-year-old actress, who was born in the US but brought up in the UK, has been promoting her new film Horizon: An American Saga, directed by Kevin Costner.

Miller – who will appear in this film and its next instalment – plays East Coast settler Frances Kittredge, who moves to the Horizon settlement with her husband and two children.

Miller wore a pale blue floor-length gown, while 12-year-old Marlowe wore a white dress with a large pale pink bow around the waist for her red carpet debut.

Miller gave birth to Marlowe, whose father is The Sandman star Tom Sturridge, 38, in 2012.

She had a second daughter earlier this year with The Crown actor Oli Green, who also attended the premiere.

Miller and Green, 27, met at a Halloween party thrown by a mutual friend and have since moved to London together.

Costner – who not only directs the film but also co-wrote and stars in it too – had plenty of family support on the red carpet.

The 69-year-old Hollywood star brought five of his seven children – Annie, 40, Cayden, 17, Grace, 13, Lily, 37, and Hayes, 15. The latter makes his screen acting debut in the movie.

Horizon: An American Saga spans four years of the Civil War, from 1861 to 1865, and is described by the studio behind it, Warner Bros, as an “ambitious cinematic adventure” telling the story of the United States of America “through the lens of families, friends and foes”.

Brace yourself for a three-hour epic – and more to come

The two-part western – of which this is the first chapter – received a 10-minute standing ovation when it premiered on Sunday.

Costner also says he has scripts ready for two further instalments in the story, which would extend the epic to four parts if commissioned.

The Yellowstone star, who first pitched a version of the movie back in 1988, has plenty at stake in the project, and personally financed around $100m for the film and its sequel.

He will be hoping to emulate the success of his 1990 directorial debut Dances With Wolves, which he also starred in and produced. The movie was a box office hit, winning multiple Oscars including best picture and best director.

Horizon: An American Saga runs for over three hours and will come to UK cinemas at the end of June.

It also features Avatar star Sam Worthington, Donnie Darko actress Jena Malone and Owen Wilson’s brother Luke Wilson.

Entertainment

GB News show with Rishi Sunak broke broadcasting rules, Ofcom finds

Published

13 hours ago

May 20, 2024

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GB News show with Rishi Sunak broke broadcasting rules, Ofcom finds

GB News could face punishment after a programme with Rishi Sunak broke broadcasting rules.

Regulator Ofcom said it was considering a “statutory sanction” after finding ‘People’s Forum: The Prime Minister’ breached impartiality guidelines.

GB News called it “an alarming development” that “strikes at the heart of democracy”.

The hour-long show, which aired on 12 February, saw members of the public put questions to the prime minister. However, it received 547 complaints.

Ofcom said in March that five other GB News programmes featuring politicians acting as presenters – including two hosted by Jacob Rees-Mogg – also broke impartiality rules.

The watchdog said the show featuring Mr Sunak was fine in principle, but “due weight” should have been given to an “appropriately wide range of significant views” other than the Tories’.

These should have happened during the programme itself or “in other clearly linked and timely programmes”.

It said Mr Sunak “had a mostly uncontested platform to promote the policies and performance of his Government in a period preceding a UK General Election”.

“We have therefore recorded a breach of rules 5.11 and 5.12 of the Broadcasting Code against GB News,” it added.

The channel was quick to hit back at the ruling and denied breaking the impartiality rules.

“The regulator’s threat to punish a news organisation with sanctions for enabling people to challenge their own prime minister strikes at the heart of democracy at a time when it could not be more vital,” it said.

“Our live programme gave an independently selected group of undecided voters the freedom to challenge the Prime Minister without interference,” added the channel.

It said neither producers nor the prime minister had seen the questions beforehand and Mr Sunak was kept “under constant pressure and covered a clearly diverse range of topics”.