Comments Thread For: Tyson Fury On Francis Ngannou: I Didn't Underestimate Him; I Trained For 12 Weeks

[champion4ever]

Well if that is certainly the case and if what Tyson Fury is saying is the truth; Then he is officially now an old, ruined and washed up fighter then.

[champion4ever]

However, I still had him winning the fight though. Both his timing and reflexes were off.

[champion4ever]

If that was his best and all he’s got; Then he is in some real serious trouble; Usyk will defeat him going away in a landslide.

[champion4ever]

It is possible he trained physically for 12 weeks. But there are so many other factors to consider.

1. When he began training, he looked somewhat out of shape. In fact, I remember this concern was raised when the fight was announced. Fury had been out of the ring for some time so he had to shed the weight quite quickly.
2. I think the major factor was that Fury was not mentally ready for what he saw in Ngannou. Fury tried to do what he did with Wilder but that was totally wrong for Ngannou. In the rounds where Ngannou won, he showed good discipline and did not rush in. He shifted stances with Fury, and his lead hand did somewhat negate Fury's jab. So, perhaps fighting the way he fought Klitschko or even Dillian would have been better. His clinching was utterly useless, did not look good on him, and may have actually gone against him as Ngannou had the power to wrestle him or even toss him to the side and fight inside.
3. Fury may have been lost in his own hype, in the criticism he and Warren got for taking this fight by so many boxing channels, in the expectation that this would be a no contest and he is expected to make it look good for a few rounds and then knock him out, and in treating this more like an event than a boxing match.
4. In all the rounds where Fury tried to hit Ngannou hard, he lost those rounds and even got knocked down in the process. In the rounds where Fury only tried to outbox Ngannou and win points, Ngannou presented little challenge and Fury hit more shots.
5. Of course, it could also be that Fury is deteriorating with age but I will hold that opinion till I see the next 1 or 2 fights.

After watching the fight multiple times, Ngannou impressed me with his boxing skills, core strength, and patience to follow a game plan. But there were no elite boxing skills from Ngannou which is quite understandable and shouldn't be expected. He wasn't particularly fast or cheeky either but had the fundamentals right and the patience to follow a game plan.

The only reason I mention it is that while Ngannou has been hyped, I do not think he would beat other top HWs or, in my opinion, even Fury if he were to fight him again now that people know what to expect. I can totally see AJ (or Fury) fighting him like the Ruiz 2 fight and winning all the rounds to a comfortable decision. If you stand and try to trade with Ngannou hoping to KO him, there is a chance you will get knocked down or out.

Training means that he was actually sparring several rounds with different fighters in camp in order to work on both his timing and conditioning.