Tyson Fury has admitted he did not view his 2023 bout with Francis Ngannou as a serious fight, with the former heavyweight world champion suggesting his approach contributed to a difficult night against the former UFC heavyweight champion.
Fury was dropped by Ngannou in the third round before securing a controversial split-decision victory in Saudi Arabia. Ngannou, then making his professional boxing debut after leaving the UFC as heavyweight champion, subsequently faced Anthony Joshua and was knocked out in the second round in March 2024.
“I didn’t not train for him, because I ‘didn’t think he was a good fighter’. I knew he was a good fighter, but to me it’s levels to boxing,” said Fury, according to ALF Global and The Independent. “So, if I’m fighting a world champion, then in my mind, he’s a world champion; everything’s good. But when you do an exhibition fight, play… It wasn’t really a fight, do you understand what I’m saying?”
“It wasn’t, in my mind, a fight; it’s just an exhibition, a game. To him, to Ngannou, it was: ‘Ah, big fight. I fight Tyson Fury!’ To me, it was play, a game. You know what I mean?” said Fury. Fury also played down comparisons between Ngannou’s punching power and that of former WBC champion Deontay Wilder. “Ngannou’s a strong guy, big guy, but he doesn’t punch like Wilder. No way,” said Fury.
Fury is now contracted to face Anthony Joshua later this year, although the long-awaited all-British heavyweight contest remains subject to uncertainty over its location. November 20 has been mooted as the date, with Madison Square Garden in New York reported as a possible venue, while Joshua’s contract calls for the fight to take place in Britain. Fury’s brother Shane said the former champion intends to compete on the date regardless of whether Joshua is his opponent. “So, if it’s not [Joshua], Tyson will be fighting on that day, so it really don’t affect us,” said Shane Fury, according to Boxing King Media.
Fury and Joshua both returned to action in July. Joshua recovered from two first-round knockdowns to stop Kristian Prenga in the second round, while Fury stopped Mariusz Wach in seven rounds in Thailand. Fury’s comments on Ngannou come almost three years after their meeting, which preceded his two subsequent defeats by Oleksandr Usyk.
