Tyson Fury reiterates desire to fight Francis Ngannou after Dillian Whyte bout

Tyson Fury is still ‘interested’ in a crossover fight against UFC champion Francis Ngannou – but it will have to wait until after he’s dealt with Dillian Whyte.

The WBC heavyweight boxing champion, 32, will defend his title against his fellow Briton after Fury’s UK-based promoter Frank Warren won the purse bid for the long-awaited Battle of Britain.

Fury and Ngannou began jawing at one another on social media a few weeks before the latter’s successful title defence against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270.

Talks over a possible match-up turned to be nothing other than hot air, but the Gypsy King is still open to making the fight.

However, he insists he will have to wait his turn, as his focus is solely on Whyte at the moment.

Fury told ESPN: “Yeah, he’s definitely a machine, that’s for sure.

“He’s definitely a good puncher and all that, and let’s face it, it’s not a wrestling match, or no grabbing or anything.

“It’s just a stand-up punching battle with small gloves on. He’s got big power, so have I, whoever lands first will get knocked out, so I’d be interested in that.

“But like I say, Dillian Whyte’s a much harder challenge than Francis Ngannou at this moment for me, so I only focus on Dillian Whyte for the next fight, which is to be announced very shortly.”

Whyte has released footage on social media showing him hard at work in the gym ahead of possibly the biggest fight of his career.

But Fury has warned his rival it will all amount to nothing – insisting he will ‘cut him down like cheese’.

He insisted: “I just think he’s an average-looking heavyweight.

“6 ft 3, 245 pounds, slow feet, slow hands, average power.

“Talk about tailor-made for a gifted boxer like myself, I should chop him down like a big oak tree, cut him