John Fury has responded to comments that his son and World Heavyweight Champion, Tyson Fury, is on the slide following a below-par performance against Francis Ngannou.
The former UFC Champion was given little to no chance against Fury, but changed that narrative with a knockdown in the third round. He boxed impressively in his pro debut and took the Brit the distance, but lost out on the win via split-decision.
In the aftermath, many have labelled Fury’s performance simply not good enough for a man of his record.
One such critic was Johnny Nelson, who told Seconds Out that, if ‘The Gypsy King’ trained as he assures fans he did, his ‘legs have gone.’
“He was either unprofessional or Tyson Fury has started to slip. His legs have gone. I’m trying to think have his legs gone and he’s started to slip and we’ve now seen it?”
“I am saying to you now – Tyson Fury, if you’re saying you trained your legs have gone. I’m gonna get screamed at, everyone’s gonna give me so much hammer because I’m saying something that nobody’s picked up on. I think his legs have gone.”
“Even if Tyson Fury underestimated him and thought he was a walk in the park, then his basics – jabbing, hitting and moving – should have been enough to keep him off … You might be shocked at me saying it, but look at the fight.”
John Fury has now responded via Pro Boxing Fans, saying Nelson and his fellow pundits know little about the sport and urging them to give Ngannou credit rather than analyse his son.
“They’re full of s**t. Forget them. They’re haters. Shut up. God Almighty. You know what I’m amazed at? How little these so-called boxing experts actually know about their job.
Ngannou is built like a tree and the kid can fight. It’s not how bad they want to look at Tyson. Tyson was okay. It’s how good the other kid was. Give Ngannou credit. He brought the action and he’s a man mountain.”
“I think Tyson did very well, but the game plan could’ve been better. A lot of things could’ve been better, but I know my soon, he can get it right next time can’t he.”
Fury will perhaps rematch Ngannou in the future, but first up is a historic undisputed affair with Oleksandr Usyk, now set for February.