Tyson Fury claims Francis Ngannou should 'kiss his feet' and thank him after earning Anthony Joshua fight

03/04/2024 05:39 AM

Tyson Fury has joked Francis Ngannou should ‘kiss his feet’ in gratitude after securing a fight against Anthony Joshua.

The ex-UFC champion will face British heavyweight Joshua this Friday in just his second boxing fight.

Ngannou earned a shot at AJ after putting in an excellent performance on his debut against the ‘Gypsy King’ last October.

He was able to knock down Fury and threatened to cause a monumental upset, but was narrowly beaten on points.

And the WBC champion, who is preparing to face Oleksandr Usyk, believes that Ngannou owes him for receiving another mega payday.

"I think it’s a great fight,” he told The Stomping Ground. “When I was fighting Ngannou it was a ‘mismatch’, but it is what it is.

“Ngannou was ‘useless’, but he proved everyone wrong so fantastic for him. I put him on the map, made him a multi-millionaire, and now I’m making him even more money.

“So he needs to thank me, he needs to get on his knees and kiss my feet for what I’ve done for him."

The Cameroon star earned a place in the top ten of the WBC rankings despite the defeat, with his stocks in the sport significantly rising.

Joshua will now know he must take the event as seriously as possible to avoid his own difficult night in the ring.

Stakes have also been made higher than ever Ngannou, who could potentially earn a shot at the undisputed titles if he causes a seismic shock this week.

Many questioned the reasoning behind his UFC exit including the MMA promotion’s president Dana White, but he is set for yet another record-high payday.

Team AJ will be wary of Ngannou’s power and his promoter Eddie Hearn insisted it is a do-or-die fight for his fighter.

“I mean it isn’t great is it? Losing to a 0-1 MMA fighter, we know he is UFC heavyweight champion and has somewhat of a boxing background,” Hearn said.

“But you shouldn’t really be losing to guys who haven’t been competing at the highest level of the sport. But we have shown against Tyson Fury what he is capable of.

“This is the one division where anything can happen, you aren’t fighting lightweights and middleweights, you are fighting a big strong puncher who isn’t afraid to let his hands go.

“So when these guys let their hands go, anything can happen.”