Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has been listening to past interviews from Deontay Wilder.
During a recent interview with Joe Rogan, Ngannou expressed concern about the possibility of Tyson Fury gaining an unfair advantage by manipulating his gloves.
Ngannou will collide with Fury, the WBC heavyweight champion, in a non-title fight on October 28 in Saudi Arabia.
Before they step in the ring, Ngannou will be keeping a close eye on Fury's gloves.
“He’s very tricky with his glove,” Ngannou stated on Rogan's JRE MMA Show. “I think he cheats.”
In 2020, Wilder had made numerous allegations that Fury had loaded his gloves with egg weights for their rematch - which took place in the same year. Fury had stopped Wilder in seven rounds.
They had a trilogy fight the following year, with Fury overcoming two knockdowns to knock Wilder out in the eleventh round.
While many observers disregarded Wilder's allegations, Ngannou is taking them very seriously.
“We are talking about it with the team, and they’re like, ‘Oh, there’s the U.K. commission with the gloves,’” Ngannou said. “I’m like, ‘Bro, we’re going to get there, we need every glove to be checked.’”
“You don’t tell me about this commission, ‘Oh, the gloves get to be checked. If you want us to fight bare hands, bare-knuckle, let’s go bare-knuckle. But don’t give me 10-ounce gloves and wear 8-ounce or 6-ounce gloves because he has no protection. No.
“His opponent complains about his gloves. It might not be [true], but we have to check that. I think we have nothing to lose by double-checking, because it’s been more than once that people talk about his gloves, and even his opponents.”