Fury left amused after Ross takes boxing dig at Ferdinand

Tyson Fury was left in laughter after Jonathan Ross took a sneaky dig at Rio Ferdinand’s failed boxing career. The former Manchester United and England footballer attempted to apply for a professional boxing license in 2018 but was rejected, leading to Rio hanging up his gloves before his career could even get started.

Ferdinand had been training “4 to 5 days a week” with the aim of competing in Betfair’s defender to contender challenge with multiple big names from the boxing world lending a hand in his preparations.

Former WBC super-middleweight champion and Team GB trainer Richie Woodhall was heading up his preparations, but the idea quickly fizzled out after the British Boxing Board of Control confirmed that they would be reviewing Ferdinand’s application.

On Saturday, Ferdinand joined Fury and Sylvester Stallone on the Jonathan Ross show and was involved in a side-splitting moment when Sly made the bold claim that The Gypsy King is the greatest heavyweight of all time.

“I’ve got to say this, and I really mean this Tyson. I think you’re the greatest heavyweight that ever lived and I’m a boxing historian, I’ve studied this closely. When you put together all your skills and plus your heart and ability to recuperate, how you can move away at your size, there’s no one that could have beaten you in any era,” said Stallone

In response, Ross joked: “It is true but then Sly, you’ve never seen me box. Also, we have Rio Ferdinand here, he can do just about anything.” The playful comment went down well with Tyson who let out a chuckle while, to his credit, Ferdinand took it well.

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Fury returns to the ring on December 3 against Derek Chisora at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Mancunian was expected to follow up the all-British showdown with an undisputed unification bout against Oleksandr Usyk in February but that now looks in doubt with the IBF ordering the Ukrainian to defend his belt against Filip Hrgovic.

Often when a mandatory defence blocks a major unification contest the champion can request an exemption to the order. However, with Hrgovic asking for an immediate purse bid, all attempts by Usyk’s side are void unless the Croatian puncher agrees to a step aside offer which he has already ruled out through promoter Eddie Hearn.