Tyson Fury has backed former sparring partner Tom Aspinall to become the man to dethrone UFC legend Jon Jones and become the next world heavyweight champion.
Aspinall was a teammate of Fury's for years, training with he and brother Hughie as he switched back-and-forth between the cage and the ring. But after opting to pursue MMA instead of boxing, the Manchester fighter has spent less time around his old friend than he used to during fight camps.
However, with Fury now set to face lineal UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, the pair have gotten back in touch. And the boxing superstar feels that his pal can become the next man to hold Ngannou's vacated belt after Jones scooped it up back in March in his heavyweight debut.
“I’m bringing him in as a sparring partner in preparation for a UFC champion,” Fury told TNT Sports of Aspinall, who is currently ranked at No.4 in the promotion's rankings. “He’s a good fighter, probably could have made it as a pro boxer. I was quite sure he would have gone on and won a world championship.
"But he had a derailment with his knee, and that fell out. Now he’s had his comeback trail. I think he can do it. He’s big enough, he’s got the power, he’s a black belt in jiu-jitsu.”
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But Fury is respectful of Jones' impressive record in the sport, comparing the American to himself and noting that it's very unlikely that anyone beats him. However, he says, if anyone is to hand Jones his first legitimate loss he reckons it may very well be his old friend Aspinall.
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“It’s a tough one. Jon Jones is the Tyson Fury of [MMA]," he continued. "People are unable to beat him. Very tough one. Even though Tom Aspinall’s a mate, Jon Jones is probably considered the greatest of all time in MMA, so I don’t know.
"It’s probably like, can anyone beat Wladimir Klitschko before Tyson Fury beat him? Probably not, but then Tyson Fury beat him. So if anyone can beat Jon Jones, it’ll be Tom Aspinall. Nobody else.”
Aspinall recently returned to the cage after a year out following an horror knee injury last summer against Curtis Blaydes. And he impressed with a stunning first round knockout to close out UFC London against promotional veteran Marcin Tybura to announce himself again as a top contender.
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