Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou is box office with stars from Cristiano Ronaldo to Conor McGregor fighting for ringside seats
Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou is set to be a boxing event like none seen before.
The ‘Battle Of The Baddest’ staged in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night is unique in many ways, from the fact it has two separate venues, a new specially made belt at stake, and a guest list featuring some of sport’s biggest stars.
It’s a fight derided by some in the boxing community given it’s former UFC star Ngannou’s professional debut and Fury is the reigning, undefeated WBC heavyweight champion of the world.
However, it looks like the world’s A-listers didn’t get the memo, with Cristiano Ronaldo just one of many set to attend.
Ronaldo will be in action for Al-Nassr when they take on Al Feiha in the Saudi Pro League at 6pm local time (4pm UK time) on Saturday.
The match will take place at the King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, which is just 30 minutes away from the Kingdom Arena set to host Fury vs Ngannou at 1am local time (11pm UK time).
Ronaldo will make the trip across town and watch the fight, where he will also be reunited with fellow Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand who has flown out to Saudi Arabia for fight night.
Conor McGregor is going to be in attendance as well, as the MMA superstar announced on Thursday that he is heading to the Kingdom.
The Notorious said in a voice note: “Just getting on to announce I will be heading to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia early AM tomorrow [Friday] for the big heavyweight blockbuster fight between boxer Tyson Fury and mixed martial artist Francis Ngannou – crossover boxing.
“So excited to be there, can’t wait to touch down in Saudi Arabia, see what the country has to offer, and I appreciate the invite sincerely. I’m looking forward to it so much.”
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Fellow MMA stars and legends such as Israel Adesanya, Frank Mir, Junior Dos Santos and Randy Couture will join McGregor at the event.
From the world of WWE, The Undertaker will be attending the fight.
And of course, a huge number of current boxing world champions and historic legends are set to make the trip.
Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao look likely to reunite at Fury vs Ngannou after staging the richest fight in history in 2015.
Heavyweight icons Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield are also going to be at the bout, with Tyson working as Ngannou’s trainer.
Fury’s current rival world champion Oleksandr Usyk will be ringside too, with fans hoping their signed undisputed fight will be officially announced by the end of the night.
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Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran are set to attend at the Kingdom Arena to relive their historic fights, as will Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto and Marco Antonio Barrera.
Roy Jones Jr and Antonio Tarver could also reunite on Saturday night.
British legends Ricky Hatton, Frank Bruno, Joe Calzaghe and Amir Khan are going to be there, with current active top middleweight contender Chris Eubank Jr flying out too.
On the subject of active fighters, Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol may well come face-to-face ahead of a potential undisputed light-heavyweight world title fight in future.
Many more names from the sporting world are also expected to attend, with Eminem even rumoured to be Saudi bound, though the guest list is being kept under wraps ahead of the star-studded show.
Whatever happens, it’s set to reignite memories of a Vegas fight nights from yesteryear.
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