Tyson Fury will fight Francis Ngannou on October 28, live on TNT Sports Box Office, but a huge fight between David Adeleye and Fabio Wardley is also on the undercard. WBO European heavyweight champion Adeleye has revealed that he has been given some tips by former undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis ahead of the fight, claiming that the pair spoke about the fight over dinner.
David Adeleye has revealed he has received “some tips” from boxing legend Lennox Lewis ahead of his huge clash against Fabio Wardley on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou, which will be live on TNT Sports Box Office.
The 26-year-old appeared in a fiery press conference on Tuesday alongside his opponent, where he admitted that he was not nervous about facing Wardley, who had previously claimed Adeleye was “jittery” at a recent media event.
But ahead of the fight, Adeleye said he had sat down for dinner with the former undisputed heavyweight champion, Lewis, who gave him some pointers about how to approach the bout.
“Just picking his brain,” Adeleye said when pressed on what the pair spoke about over dinner. “I didn’t want to pick it too much, you know, we were out at dinner. So talking. Nice guy, down to earth. We spoke about everything.
“I’m just like, ‘is this Lennox Lewis?’ It’s humbling, you know, and at the same time, it’s overwhelming.
“I love it, though. You know, I take it in all of my stride and I just kind of go with the flow, but yeah, he [Lewis] said he’s going to be there as well. I was just getting some tips off him. He was giving me a lot of tips on what to do, what not to do.”
On whether he could reveal any of those tips, the London-born fighter said: “No, you’ll see that on fight night.”
Lewis will be one of just many star-studded names ringside as the 26-year-old looks to extend his 12-fight unbeaten record.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather are also rumoured to be attending the event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with Wardley previously admitting that he wants to impress the former Manchester United and Real Madrid football star with a win.
Fury is set to go toe-to-toe with MMA star Ngannou in the main card, and Adeleye also admitted that the ‘Gypsy King’ had spoken to him before the event and also revealed that he was in fact meant to train with Fury in the build up.
“Oh yeah I spoke to Tyson, too. Yeah, we spoke, the last time I was actually at a press conference as well,” he said.
“I was actually meant to be training with him, but obviously, I was in America, so it couldn’t work out, but, yeah, we spoke as well.”
The hotly anticipated main card will be live on TNT Sports Box Office, with Ngannou, a former UFC heavyweight champion, set to step into the boxing ring for the crossover event.
Adeleye lauded the MMA star but flatly claimed that his money was on Fury to win.
“Tyson,” he said, when asked for his prediction. “I like Ngannou, though. He seems like a real sportsman. He’s a real gentleman. He’s a nice guy. You can tell he is a powerhouse.
“He obviously whacks. But he’s coming into Tyson’s game. You know, it’s the difference between table tennis and tennis?”
He added that he was backing the British fighter to defeat Oleksandr Usyk after their unification bout was confirmed.
He said: “Tyson again. Too big, too smart. Usyk’s a tremendous fighter, though. They’re both at the top of the tree for a reason. But yeah, I think my money’s just on Tyson.”
Thousands of boxing fans are set to tune in to watch Adeleye’s bout with Wardley, with Frank Warren claiming it will be a “special” occasion with the winner “able to establish themselves around the world”.
Speaking on his excitement to step into the ring, Adeleye said: “Yeah, it’s good. You know, going down in the history books and at the end of the day all we are is a bunch of memories.
“So, you know something for us to remember, you know, and something for us to tell our next generation. To say I fought in Saudi on such a big show is an accomplishment, so yeah.”
Wardley also boasts an unbeaten record, having not lost in 16 fights.
