Tyson Fury was unexpectedly taken the distance by pro boxing debutant Francis Ngannou recently, a third round knockdown spelling real worry for ‘The Gypsy King.’
Whilst Ngannou has received due praise, many have focused on the preparation and performance of Fury, with claims following that he is a fighter out of his prime.
Responding to a theory floated by promoter Eddie Hearn that Fury now can’t deal with shots like he once could, Warren told Seconds Out his rival didn’t know boxing.
“Eddie Hearn, if he actually knew about boxing, then I could sometimes take what he says with a bit of respect. Punch resistance is not going down, it’s getting up. Lots of fighters go down – it’s the ones who get up who’ve got the punch resistance.
He got knocked down in his last fight twice against the biggest puncher out there, got up and done what he had to do. In the first fight he got knocked down twice and got up. That’s called punch resistance.”
“Larry Holmes had it. Punch resistance. Muhammad Ali had it. Punch resistance. That’s the difference – getting up.”
Fury was dropped by Deontay Wilder four times over the course of three fights, but his ability to recover shone through – particularly in the third outing when he went on to win by stoppage.
The next man he’s in with, Oleksandr Usyk, isn’t known as a power puncher, but did finish Daniel Dubois off in the ninth round of his last contest.
The four belt clash has been signed and fans are now awaiting a date announcement, thought to be February of next year.