Dave Allen calls for Tyson Fury to be STRIPPED of his heavyweight titles after snubbing undisputed clash with Oleksandr Usyk to fight former UFC champion Francis Ngannou

British heavyweight contender Dave Allen believes Tyson Fury should be stripped of his titles after agreeing to fight Francis Ngannou in October.

Fury currently holds the WBC belt and is recognised as the lineal champion after defeating long-reigning heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.

He looked set to face Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk in an undisputed clash earlier this year, but talks broke down after Fury demanded a 70-30 split of the purse in his favour and started setting deadlines for his opponent to accept.

The Gypsy King will now take on Ngannou in Saudi Arabia, despite the ex-UFC champion having never had a professional boxing bout.

Allen understands Fury’s reasons for taking the fight, but does not expect it to be competitive and has called for the sanctioning bodies to take action.  

Tyson Fury is set to fight Francis Ngannou in a crossover fight in Saudi Arabia in October

Ngannou is a former UFC champion, but has never had a professional boxing match

Dave Allen believes his friend Fury should be stripped of his heavyweight titles

‘I am disappointed, to be honest,’ Allen told Seconds Out when asked for his thoughts on Fury’s fight with Ngannou being announced.

‘I’m probably going to pay to watch it because its intriguing. The same way I paid to watch Jake Paul-Tommy Fury, intrigue, curiosity. 

‘But I’ve known Tyson a very long time, we’ve been mates for a long time. I understand it, the money’s great. He’s going to get paid tens of millions (to fight) a fella who’s never boxed before. Great business for him. 

‘I understand why he’s doing it but I don’t like it. And he probably should be stripped of his titles because he’s not defended it since Chisora (in December 2022). It will be 18 months by the time he boxes again. If he wants to do these exhibitions then go and do them, I’m happy for him, earn your money. But if you’re not going to defend the belt, give these other fighters a chance that want to fight.’

The crossover fight has received criticism from fans, with few giving Ngannou a chance of pulling off an upset win.

Fury’s promoter Frank Warren has insisted he tried to make alternative match-ups against Usyk and Anthony Joshua, but a deal couldn’t be reached and they went with Ngannou after running out of opponents.

Allen does not buy this excuse, though, claiming there were plenty of other options for Fury to take ahead of Ngannou. 

‘He could have boxed (Arslanbek) Makhmudov, could have boxed (Filip) Hrgovic. The only thing bothering me about the situation is they’re saying that there’s no one for him to box,’ Allen said. 

‘I could name you 30 fighters that he could box, and I could reel (off to) you 60 or 70 that I’d rather see than Ngannou. The only fight that counts right now is Fury-Usyk.’

Allen is disappointed Fury couldn’t agree a fight with Oleksandr Usyk, claiming that is the fight that matters in the heavyweight division