Tyson Fury is preparing to face former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in a crossover boxing match on Oct. 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. To help him get ready for the bout, Fury will be training with fellow British UFC heavyweight Tom Aspinall.
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Training Partnership
Aspinall and Fury share a close relationship, with Fury holding a high opinion of the UFC heavyweight contender. Aspinall has an impressive record of 6-1 in the promotion, with all of his wins coming by way of submission or technical knockout in the first round. Fury recently told TNT Sports, “I’m bringing him in as a sparring partner in preparation for a UFC champion. He’s a good fighter, probably could have made it as a pro boxer. I was quite sure he would have gone on and won a world championship. But he had a derailment with his knee, and that fell out. Now he’s had his comeback trail. I think he can do it. He’s big enough, he’s got the power, he’s a black belt in jiu-jitsu.”
Aspinall’s Recent Performance and Callout
In July, Aspinall scored a first-round technical knockout win over Marcin Tybura, bouncing back from a fight-ending knee injury that accounts for his lone UFC loss. The 30-year-old has since called out heavyweight champ Jon Jones, who is set to defend his title against Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 on Nov. 11.
Fury acknowledges that beating Jones will be a difficult task, but he believes if anyone can do it, it’s his friend Aspinall. “Jon Jones is the Tyson Fury of boxing. People are unable to beat him,” Fury said. “Very tough one. Even though Tom Aspinall’s a mate, Jon Jones is probably considered the greatest of all time in MMA, so I don’t know… It’s probably like, can anyone beat Wladimir Klitschko before Tyson Fury beat him? Probably not, but then Tyson Fury beat him. So if anyone can beat Jon Jones, it’ll be Tom Aspinall. Nobody else.”