Tyson Fury's father, John Fury, has expressed his views on the recent showdown between his son and Francis Ngannou. In a ten-round bout that took place last Saturday, John Fury indicated that he only credited Ngannou with winning one round, specifically the third round when he managed to drop Tyson, known as the 'Gypsy King.'
In the aftermath of the fight, John's comments somewhat resembled those of a politician attempting to mitigate damage. He attributed Fury's subpar performance to his ten-month period of inactivity. However, this explanation seemed questionable, given that Ngannou had not stepped into the ring for a staggering 21 months. Moreover, it was Ngannou's debut as a professional boxer. According to John Fury, Tyson dominated Ngannou (0-1) with his jab, showcasing superior boxing skills in their headline bout at Boulevard Hall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Fortunately for John, he was not among the judges for the fight, as his lopsided scorecard favoring Fury would likely have drawn heavy criticism from the boxing community. Such an unusual scoring outcome would have cast a shadow of doubt over the entire event, suggesting that the victory was scripted for the seemingly out-of-shape Tyson, regardless of his performance.
The official judges' scores were 95-94 for Ngannou, 96-93, and 95-94 for Fury.
Did Fury Underestimate Ngannou? When asked about Ngannou's knockdown of Fury, Oleksandr Usyk remarked, "Listen, it's world champion MMA, a hard punch and mental pride. Maybe Tyson Fury is not serious, thinking, 'Oh, it's an MMA fighter, blah-blah-blah.'"
Given Ngannou's immense power, it is not surprising that he posed a challenge for Fury. His punching style was reminiscent of a George Foreman-type puncher, someone who could always give Fury a hard time. To make matters worse for Fury, his usual strategy over the past three years had involved a lot of leaning, holding, and wrestling to tire out opponents. However, in this fight, Fury couldn't resort to that approach because Ngannou, weighing 272 pounds, was too strong and excelled in inside punching and grappling. With his inside game unavailable, Fury was forced to rely on his outside game, which mainly consisted of throwing lackluster jabs and feeble right hands.
Fury's power appeared to be lacking, and his agility seemed diminished now that he was in his mid-30s, carrying some extra weight and unable to move around the ring as he did in his younger years.
"I was surprised," admitted Usyk when asked about the knockdown. "I was watching the knockdown and thought, 'Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa. Francis, be careful, please.' I told Tyson, 'Move, move, jab.' I was quite concerned," Usyk added.
Fury's Victory - A Stroke of Luck? John Fury, discussing Tyson's closely contested split decision victory over Francis Ngannou, emphasized, "I knew Ngannou was going to bring it. A big, solid man can punch like a horse kicking, and this is boxing. This is why people buy fights because you just don't know." John believed Tyson won unanimously, asserting, "He was working behind the jab. Really, I only gave him the knockdown round. He [Ngannou] was getting out-jabbed and outworked. We're just happy to get the win."
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