What channel is Tyson Fury v Francis Ngannou? When is the fight? Start time and TV details

All you need to know ahead of Tyson Fury v Francis Ngannou in the ‘Battle of the Baddest’ …

Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou react in the face off during a press conference ahead of the boxing match at Boulevard Hall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Tyson Fury takes on Francis Ngannou in an eagerly-anticipated crossover fight in Riyadh this weekend.

Heavyweight champion Fury will contest a 35th career bout but will put not his WBC title on the line against UFC fighter Ngannou, who has no professional record in boxing, but boasts an MMA record of 12 knockouts from 17 fights, with three defeats.

The undefeated Fury, 34, the six-foot-nine self-styled 'Gypsy King' with a record of 33-0-1 (24 KOs), first became unified world heavyweight champion in November 2015 when he toppled the long-standing ruler Wladimir Klitschko. Since then, he has competed in one of the greatest boxing trilogies of all time against Deontay Wilder, while more recently beating Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora in front of record-breaking crowds in London.

The six-foot-four, 280-pound Cameroonian-French Ngannou, 36, became the UFC's first-ever African Heavyweight Champion, knocking out arguably the greatest Heavyweight in UFC history, Stipe Miocic, spectacularly in 2021. Despite this being Ngannou's first professional boxing bout, he is no stranger to the ring, having trained as a boxer for years before making it in MMA. For this fight he has teamed up with Heavyweight boxing legend, Mike Tyson.

The fight will be a 10-round professional bout with no exhibition rules in place, but many are viewing it as a mere tune-up for Fury ahead of his December 23 showdown against WBA, IBF and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk, who will be ringside to get a close-up view of his rival.

Billed the ‘Battle of the Baddest’ by promoters, it is the most prominent crossover fight since Floyd Mayweather defeated Conor McGregor with a 10th-round stoppage in their highly-lucrative contest in Las Vegas in August 2017.

Although the WBC has not sanctioned this as a world-title bout, it has created a commemorative 'Riyadh Champion' belt for the winner. The event will form part of 'Riyadh Season' - an entertainment events festival held in Saudi Arabia's capital every winter since 2019.

Tyson Fury v Francis Ngannou fight details

The crossover bout takes place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, October 28, 2023. The main event is due to take place at 10.45pm BST, with the undercard set to begin at 6pm. The full undercard line-up features Fabio Wardley vs David Adeleye, Joseph Parker vs Simon Kean, Carlos Takam vs Martin Bakole, Arslanbek Makhmudov vs Anthony Wright, Moses Itauma vs Istvan Bernath and Jack McGann vs Alcibiade Duran.

How to watch Tyson Fury v Francis Ngannou

The fight is being shown exclusively live in the UK on TNT Sports Box Office for a price of £21.95. This can be found on channel 490 on Sky, or 494 on BT TV. You can also live stream the action from the TNT Sports Box Office app, which is available for download onto your mobile or tablet device. For more information visit tntsports.co.uk/boxoffice.

Tyson Fury v Francis Ngannou fight purse

Fury has claimed that Ngannou will earn $10m from the fight while boxer Derek Chisora revealed on FightHub TV that Fury will take $50 million.