In April on Wembley Stadium In London (England), local heavyweights fought for the WBC title: champion Tyson Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) knocked out mandatory challenger Dillian Whyte (28-3, 19 KOs), after which he announced his retirement.
The big man claims that he is only ready to hold an exhibition fight with the UFC champion Frenchman Francis Ngannou – he even went up to Fury in the ring. Both speculated a little about the format in which they could determine the strongest and agreed that boxing should be done in MMA gloves in a 5-round fight for 5 minutes each.
Compatriot Fury heavyweight UFC near-top Tom Aspinall (12-2 in MMA) decided to even
help colleagues with rules: “It’s interesting to see that. It would be cool. But you need to define the rules. MMA gloves are 100%. The same goes for the 5 minute rounds. After all, this format slightly equalizes the chances of fighters. How can they fight? I would suggest that the first round is exclusively boxing, the second round add lowkicks, and the third add lowkicks and clinches. In this format, it would be really interesting and competitive.”
Aspinall, it turns out, is a very sensible fighter, he talks entertainingly and does not try to hype out of the blue: “If they just box, then Ngannou’s chances are not very good. After all, one of the best boxers in the history of heavyweight will come out against him. These are really small chances, despite the presence of small gloves and unrealistic power from Ngannou. To be more competitive, you must definitely add lowkicks and clinches. By the way, I fought Fury before. He has always been interested in mixed martial arts. And he did a little grappling, a little honed kicks. He worked in our hall. Therefore, I have no doubt that he was talking seriously about the duel with the MMA fighter. I personally would watch it with great interest.”
Aspinall does not believe that Fury will move to MMA and sign a contract with the UFC. There are good reasons for this: “Let’s not fantasize, but talk sensibly. A fighter needs several years of training to fully transition from boxing to MMA. And I’m just talking about preparation, and not about reaching a certain level and claiming something. Believe me, such a transition is many times more difficult than it seems visually. The same, by the way, in the opposite direction – from MMA to boxing. If an MMA fighter believes that he will be able to box on equal terms with the leading boxers in the world, then he simply signs his ignorance. For example, I really like boxing. But to switch to a boxer, it would take me at least one year. And I’m not talking about boxing at the top level, but just to box. It’s a really difficult transition.”
Aspinall doesn’t need to think about moving to boxing yet – he’s doing great in MMA too. In March in London, in the opening round, he submitted the Russian Alexander Volkov, and in July he will measure his strength with the American Curtis Blaydes there. The one in the stalls is much cooler than the representative of Russia.
Meanwhile, promoter Bob Arum said that Tyson Fury would not retire before the Usyk-Joshua rematch. And the champion himself, along with his father, are resting in Cannes: they showed how they fight with a tough hangover: video.
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