The WBC, the sanctioning body for which Tyson Fury holds the heavyweight boxing title, has no issues with his upcoming special attraction matchup with Francis Ngannou. 

The two fighters, both champions in their respective crafts, are set to do battle in Saudi Arabia on October 28 in a fight which takes place instead of what is generally considered to be Fury’s biggest challenges in boxing: Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua. But despite those blockbuster bouts being as far away as they have ever been, the WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has told Sky Sports that he is “absolutely supportive” of the cross-codes matchup between Fury and Ngannou.

“The WBC is absolutely supportive of Tyson Fury and his decision to engage in a non-title bout and a WBC special event contest,” Sulaiman said.  “He has tried to land a fight with the unified champion several times, with [Anthony] Joshua and [Andy] Ruiz and all credible opponents, and not having a mandatory contender he may engage in this type of event under the WBC rules.

“The WBC has been flexible and supporting to try to find the best mandatory contender of the WBC in the division,” Sulaiman added. “Wilder vs Ruiz without a doubt would have the best mandatory contender. We are waiting for a final decision [from] both camps. If such is not materialised then we will have to cancel such order and create a new ruling.”

Of course, former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou could very much upset the apple cart if he was able to make the most of what many think is little more than a puncher’s chance in October — and when it comes to ‘The Predator’, who is arguably the most concussive striker in UFC history, his puncher’s chance seems a little more potent than others — at least in theory.