TYSON FURY has been branded a "clown" for holding up the heavyweight division with his crossover clash with Francis Ngannou.
The Gypsy King's next outing will see him take on the former UFC heavyweight champion in a multi-million-pound Saudi showdown on October 28.
Fury's controversial dance with the MMA superstar was finalised just months after his proposed undisputed title fight with Oleksandr Usyk fell through.
The WBC king's clash with Ngannou has been branded a farce by several heavyweights, including Michael Hunter - who reckons the division as a whole is now in complete disarray.
The Bounty told SecondsOut: “They want the fame.
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"They want excuses and most of them make them, know what I’m saying.
"It’s a bad thing for boxing as a whole.
"I take my hat off to Francis Ngannou, to him and his team, for making that fight happen.
"There was an opening and an opportunity 'cause we basically got a clown holding the belts and it’s a bad situation.”
Hunter's frustrations with the heavyweight division - however - don't extend to former foe and current unified champ Usyk.
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He said of the undefeated Ukrainian, who fights Brit Daniel Dubois next month: "He’s done it all.
"He wants to be cruiserweight champ, heavyweight champ, he went into the Olympics.
"And he wants all the belts, and that’s how it should be. I feel he would fight an even faster place if it was allowed.”
Hunter reckons heavyweight has stalled due to the division's top dogs not putting aside their egos and testing themselves.
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He said: “Their hearts get broken, they’re emotional, their egos are too involved.
"They can’t stick with reality, they get the big head and they really think they can do something.
"I feel like Tyson Fury, he dodged a bullet on Usyk, he’s a real hard competitor, he would give Tyson Fury a problem, that’s not a secret, there’s no way he should not be fighting.
"It’s not good for the whole situation. I feel like it’s a selfish move on Fury’s behalf.”
