 The World Boxing Council [WBC] has granted Tyson Fury 'special permission' to fight Francis Ngannou and not face the prospect of being stripped of his world title. Fury will take on the former UFC heavyweight champion on 28 October on Saudi Arabia, a fight that will be fought under standard boxing rules across 10 rounds but without his world title on the line. 'The Gypsy King' took the WBC title from Deontay Wilder in February 2020 with his last mandatory title defence coming against Dillian Whyte in April last year. The belt was also on the line as Fury sealed a dominant win over Derek Chisora in December. Fury has not fought since then with talks to fight IBF, WBO and WBA champion Oleksandr Usyk falling through in March. In May, efforts were made to revive the Joshua fight but no deal was agreed. There were also discussions for Fury to fight former world champion Andy Ruiz Jr with Frank Warren later revealing the American had priced himself out of a fight. Fury has the backing of the WBC (Picture: Getty) Fury's decision to fight Ngannou and effectively sideline any fight with the WBC up for grabs until the end of the year has irked some boxing fans. But the champion has the full support of the sanctioning body with president Mauricio Sulaiman insisting Fury has had no 'official challenger'. 'Last night it was announced that the heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will be fighting in Saudi Arabia against UFC's former champion in a 10-round fight,' Sulaiman said. 'He asked for a special permission from the WBC. Fury did everything possible to fight Usyk since December of last year, has tried everything possible to fight Joshua and to fight Andy Ruiz. 'He hasn't been able to land a top tier fight and it is because of that, by not having an official challenger, he has been granted permission to do this fight on 28 October in Saudi.' MORE : 'That's nonsense' – Anthony Joshua reacts to Tyson Fury vs){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
The World Boxing Council [WBC] has granted Tyson Fury ‘special permission’ to fight Francis Ngannou and not face the prospect of being stripped of his world title.
Fury will take on the former UFC heavyweight champion on 28 October on Saudi Arabia, a fight that will be fought under standard boxing rules across 10 rounds but without his world title on the line.
‘The Gypsy King’ took the WBC title from Deontay Wilder in February 2020 with his last mandatory title defence coming against Dillian Whyte in April last year.
The belt was also on the line as Fury sealed a dominant win over Derek Chisora in December.