Ronaldo rubs shoulders with Eminem and Mike Tyson at Fury-Ngannou gala in Saudi
Cristiano Ronaldo was mixing with fellow A-listers from all corners of the sport and entertainment industry on Friday as superstars from across the globe arrived in Saudi Arabia for Tyson Fury's 'Battle of the Baddest' crossover fight against Francis Ngannou.
Fury meets former MMA titan Ngannou in the boxing ring on Saturday night in Riyadh for one of the most high-profile bouts this year. Ahead of the showdown, a gala dinner was held which saw a number of famous faces link up. Football icon Ronaldo, now based in Saudi with club side Al Nassr, was pictured joking with Fury backstage.
The former Real Madrid ace was not the only sporting heavyweight present, with Mike Tyson also posing for snaps with fans and revellers. Tyson has been helping to coach Ngannou in the lead-up to the bout and also took part in the pre-fight press conference.
Iron Mike also took a picture with Brazilian football legend Ronaldo, who took time off from his busy schedule as owner and chairman of Spanish second tier outfit Real Valladolid to attend the event. One of the more surprising attendees was Oleksandr Usyk.
The Ukrainian put pen to paper on a contract agreeing an undisputed heavyweight title showdown with Fury later this year, but was pictured hugging the 'Gypsy King' upon arrival. Fellow Boxing legend Ricky Hatton was present, having taken a break from his promoter duties.
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There was even room for rap royalty, with Eminem showing face, though the Detroit-born superstar was sporting a very different look to the one fans are most familiar with. It would appear he's swapped the iconic bleached look for a ponytail, tucked underneath his cap.
Also in attendance at the Champions Gala was the rest of the Fury clan, Manny Pacquiao, UFC icon Israel Adesanya, Chuck Liddell, Lennox Lewis, and Oscar de la Hoya.
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Cristiano Ronaldo and Tyson Fury pose backstage
Eminem posed for a picture with Fury's opponent, Francis NgannouIt was Portugal captain Ronaldo who Fury seemed to have the most time for, as the pair were filmed chatting in a clip uploaded to social media. "Cristiano, you're the greatest footballer that's ever lived and I mean that," Fury told the five-time Ballon d'Or winner as they sat next to each other away from the glare of other celebrities.
A clearly delighted Ronaldo replied simply: "Thank you very much," before Fury added: "I'm a big fan, I watch all the football, I watched you when you was at United the first time, the second time, all of Real Madrid."
Tyson Fury shared an embrace with Oleksandr Usyk
Rio Ferdinand was also in attendanceFury is a lifelong Manchester United fan and that goes some way to explaining his fondness for Ronaldo, who has produced plenty of moments of magic across two spells with the Red Devils. The Manchester-born boxing icon also laid bare his game plan, telling the Guardian: "I’m intent on punishing him for a while, enjoying it, putting on a show, then bang! Chinning him. He might be tough as a brick.
"He’s never been stopped. But he’s never been hit by a proper puncher before. There’s MMA punching and boxing punching. It’s different.”
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