The only possible reasons for WBC heavyweight titleholder Tyson Fury’s subpar performance against boxing debutant Francis Ngannou late last month are that he either failed to properly prepare for the bout or his legs are shot.
That’s the opinion of retired former WBO cruiserweight champion turned pundit Johnny Nelson, who was decidedly unimpressed by the 35-year-old Brit in his split decision victory over former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou in their 10-round non-title bout at Boulevard Hall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on October 28.
Fury 34-0-1 (24) kept his unbeaten record intact, but barely. Nagnnou 0-1 boxed much better than most people were expecting, dropping Fury in the third round only to lose by scores of 95-94, 94-95 and 93-96.
Nelson believes French-Cameroonian Ngannou deserved the nod but said the result had as much to do with where Fury is at with his career as it is what the 37-year-old brought to the ring.
“Tyson didn’t deserve the win, but he got the win because he landed more shots due to his pedigree and we know who he is, so that’s why he got the nod,” Nelson said to SecondsOut.
“Francis Ngannou, that was his first professional fight and if he got the win, you couldn’t complain. Ngannou was the powerful one and the one who pushed back. The only person who was unprofessional was Tyson Fury.
“So he was either unprofessional or Tyson Fury is starting to slip and his legs have gone. Tyson Fury, his movement, if you’re saying you trained, then your legs are gone. I’m saying something that nobody has actually picked up on.
“I think his legs are gone. If you look at his movement, it took him six rounds to get his range.
“This guy [Ngannou] was clipping him, putting him under pressure. This guy didn’t have one professional boxing fight. That should have never happened in a million years.
“Even if Tyson Fury underestimated, then Tyson Fury’s jabbing and movement should have been enough to keep him off. I just thought ‘his legs are gone’. It happens to us all at some point.
“I’m telling you now: I think this is the beginning of the slide of Tyson Fury.
“He surrounds himself with people who are scared to tell him the truth because there’s so much involved. They don’t want to lose their job. If he barks at them, they’ll back up because they value their job.
“This is going to disable your development if you all of a sudden cannot take constructive criticism or counsel. Everyone around you will say, ‘Yes, sir. No, sir.’ [Fury’s brother] Shane was right. Shane was in that camp and was right to say that there are too many yes-men.”
Fury is expected to face WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk 21-0 (14) next in February. The undefeated 36-year-old Ukrainian southpaw is sure to test whatever Fury has left.
