De Fries claims Alex Pereira previously declined fight with Tom Aspinall

Phil de Fries, a friend and training partner of Tom Aspinall, has stated that Alex Pereira previously turned down the opportunity to fight Aspinall. De Fries believes Aspinall is better than Ciryl Gane and that stylistically the two present different challenges for Pereira. He suggested that a fight with Aspinall would be excellent for the heavyweight contender. The post does not provide additional details about when this alleged offer occurred or the circumstances surrounding Pereira's reported decision.