Fury wants MMA fight this year, warns Wilder and Joshua
SHOWS: BAKERSFIELD, CALIFORNIA, USA (RECENT - OCTOBER 7, 2019) (WWE - ACCESS ALL)
1. VARIOUS OF BOXER, TYSON FURY, BRAWLING WITH PROFESSIONAL WRESTLER, BRAUN STROWMAN
LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (OCTOBER 25, 2019) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)
2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BOXER, TYSON FURY, SAYING ABOUT HIS WRESTLING OPPONENT, BRAUN STROWMAN:
"Beware cos the Furious One is coming to Saudi to slay the Monster Among Men. How's that?"
REPORTER: "That was very good."
FURY: "Fantastic."
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - NOVEMBER 28, 2018) (SHOWTIME - ACCESS ALL)
3. FURY AT BOXING WEIGH-IN
LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (OCTOBER 25, 2019) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)
4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BOXER, TYSON FURY, SAYING ABOUT WANTING AN MMA FIGHT IN 2019:
"Yeah, I'm looking to have an MMA match before Christmas this year."
REPORTER: "Really?"
FURY: "Yeah, it's probably going to be on BT Sport or ITV."
REPORTER: "And who would it be against?"
FURY: "I've no idea. I've not idea. I'll see what Conor McGregor's doing on that night."
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE - NOVEMBER 28, 2018) (SHOWTIME - ACCESS ALL)
5. FURY AND WILDER FACE-OFF AND GET INTO PHYSICAL CONFRONTATION
LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (OCTOBER 25, 2019) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL)
6. (SOUNDBITE) (English) BOXER, TYSON FURY, SAYING ABOUT DEONTAY WILDER REMATCH:
"Concentrate on Luis Ortiz. Not me. Because he's not fighting me at the end of next month. He's fighting Luis Ortiz. So, concentrate on that. Not me."
REPORTER: "How we looking for a potential rematch to one of the greatest boxing matches of all time?"
FURY: "Yeah, listen, let him win his fight first. If he wins then we can talk about rematches, but until then Tyson Fury's fighting Braun Strowman and Deontay Wilder's fighting Luis 'King Kong' Ortiz."
STORY: Heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury is stepping into the showy world of professional wrestling for a bout in Saudi Arabia, but he also claims he is expanding his talents to mixed martial arts before the end of 2019.
Fury, who is due to fight professional wrestler Braun Strowman at the WWE's Crown Jewel event in Saudi, told Reuters on Friday (October 25) in London that his management team are not aware of his MMA ambitions and that he does not yet know who his opponent might be. Although, he did mention he would like to find out what the former MMA champion Conor McGregor is up to.
With Fury's journey into pro wrestling, which has seen him get into a number of in-ring brawls with the so-called 'Monster Among Men' Strowman, his boxing opponent Deontay Wilder was reported to have said he thinks Fury will get an injury in his Saudi match and find a way to avoid a rematch with him.
Fury seemed unaffected by Wilder's words and warned the U.S. boxing champion to focus on his upcoming bout with Luis Ortiz.
If Wilder wins his match, he is tipped to fight a rematch in February with Fury with whom he fought to a controversial draw last December.
Fury claimed he has been offered a 'mammoth' amount of money to stage the Wilder rematch in Saudi Arabia, but said the fight is more likely to take place in the U.S..
Another British heavyweight, Anthony Joshua, will be competing in Saudi in his rematch with Andy Ruiz on December 7. The American shockingly defeated the then undefeated Joshua in New York in June to win the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles.
Fury said he is 'intrigued' by the upcoming Joshua v Ruiz match as both fighters have lost weight and could have different physiques. But Fury warned his fellow Brit that the man who gets knocked out in the first match usually goes on to suffer the same fate in the second bout.
The 31 year-old from Manchester, England, said his management team were unaware of his agreement to compete in professional wrestling and no-one advised him to do it. But he has enjoyed the 'amazing' experience of working with global wrestling stars like Triple H and warned Strowman he is 'coming' for him in Saudi.
The Crown Jewel event is due to take place on October 31 in Riyadh.
