Tyson Fury has been mocked for coming up with the "dumbest idea in history" after calling out Francis Ngannou for a boxing match inside a cage with MMA gloves.
The boxing world champion has long been keen to take on the UFC heavyweight title holder, even when Stipe Miocic held the belt. And he is even willing to compromise a bit on the gloves and location of such a bout, even though he doesn't want to do a full MMA contest or even allow kicks.
However, UFC legend Chael Sonnen believes the idea is idiotic, particularly with the caveat that Fury has added of the fight having a special guest referee, a la WWE. The Brit wants legendary heavyweight champion Mike Tyson to referee the contest, even though he is not qualified for such a position.
“I see Tyson Fury come out over the weekend and finally clear up first what we’re going to do first with Francis,” Sonnen said on his YouTube channel. “They’ve always said they’re going to make up a sport. These two were going to do a game, but they were going to do something combat related.
"For reasons unknown, they weren’t going to box. Francis offered to box, and for reasons unknown, Tyson did not accept that invitation, and they were going to make up rules. Tyson finally laid out for us what they are. They were going to fight in a cage. I have no idea why.
"They’re going to fight in a cage. OK, fine. They’re going to wear four-once gloves. I have no idea why, but OK, fine. They are then going to follow boxing rules, the Queensbury rules [traditional boxing]... And they're going to have Mike Tyson as the referee? Okay.
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"I put this out there because of how disappointing it is to see these boxers as beggars. Guys that are hot to fight to go out there and get it on your own, that have physical capabilities that other men can only dream of. But they don’t know how to go out there and get it on their own.
"They just don’t know how. I bring it to you because to watch Tyson Fury beg was surprising. I don’t want to call it disappointing. I was really close to calling it that, but I don’t want to call it that. So Tyson comes to us with perhaps the dumbest idea in sports history - perhaps. He knows it is, but if somebody's willing to write a cheque he will in fact go through with it.”
Fury must first, however, beat Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight title, while Ngannou may decide that he wants to get in the ring and test himself at boxing before taking on an all-time great. The Cameroonian is known for his striking in the octagon and his vicious knockout power, but he has never boxed professionally before.
