Tyson Fury laughs off claims he should be stripped of world title over Francis Ngannou fight

Tyson Fury has hit back at Oleksandr Usyk's promoter Alex Krassyuk after the Ukrainian called for him to be stripped of his world heavyweight title for facing Francis Ngannou.

Fury, the reigning WBC heavyweight champion, possesses the one belt that Usyk currently lacks. Earlier this year, discussions were underway for an undisputed showdown between the two, but an agreement couldn't be reached. As a result, Usyk was compelled to defend against his WBA mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois.

In an Instagram story, Fury offered a cheeky response to the critics, saying, "Hey guys, little bit of clarification. I hear there's a lot of unknown, irrelevant people talking about how I should be stripped of my belt. Ha ha ha! Don't hate the player, hate the game. I don't have a mandatory."

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He continued, "When I do have a mandatory, it will be dealt with just like every other mandatory I've ever had. Until then, keep on hating mother******s! And enjoy the little, little, little tiny bit of money you guys are making. All the big Gs in the house!"

Krassyuk, however, dismissed Fury's upcoming fight with Ngannou as nothing more than a "performance" that won't even impact Fury's undefeated record. He urged that the belt should be taken away from the Brit and insisted that, given the considerable time since Fury's last mandatory defence, he should be compelled to engage in an undisputed fight against Usyk.

In an explosive interview with Seconds Out, as reported by The Mirror, Krassyuk stated, "You call it a fight? No, it's a performance. It's an exhibition, it's not a fight. The fight is when you have the heavyweight undisputed [title] at stake, this