Tyson Fury may have been fooled by Francis Ngannou before their boxing match. In October, the 37-year-old swapped the UFC cage for the boxing ring when he made his debut against none other than the WBC Heavyweight champion.
The Cameroon fighter exceeded expectations and pushed ‘The Gypsy King’ to his limi, even knocking him to the canvas in the third round. He was incredibly competitive throughout the 10-round encounter and only beaten via split decision, which some fans felt was the wrong call.
It is possible Fury and his team went into the fight not expecting much from Ngannou, if his workout posted to social media was anything to go by. Footage emerged of the former UFC Heavyweight Champion getting some reps in on the pads with new coach Mike Tyson watching on.
He looked somewhat lacklustre and some of boxing’s biggest names voiced their displeasure with Ngannou’s display. Former super-middleweight champion Carl Froch added: “Fury’s not going to be worried about getting hit by that monstrous punch, because I’ve seen Ngannou on the pads and he looks terrible.
“He looks like what I’d expect a zero-fight novice to look like; slow, awkward, stiff – how is he going to get near Fury? He’s going to get his head absolutely peppered off.” Fury’s dad, John, agreed and commented: “I’ve seen the open workout, I hope he’s kidding along and he’s playing possum here. I hope that’s a joke and intended to be a laugh.
“Because if it’s not, he ain’t got a prayer, he ain’t got a cat in hell’s chance. He won’t get out the first round, it’s probably gonna be Tyson’s quickest knockout. If that’s what he’s got, God help him, he’ll get smashed to bits. That’s embarrassing. If that’s what he can do on a public workout, don’t bother. It’s a disgrace.”
For those who thought Ngannou would be overwhelmed by Fury, or perhaps believed his inexperience would get the best of him, he proved his doubters wrong with his power and poise in an impressive boxing debut. Now the combat star will fight another big name as he steps into the ring with Anthony Joshua on March 8.
Unlike the build-up with Fury, there has been a lack of trash talk of Joshua, and Ngannou explains why any nerves shown by the Brit could work in his favour. “Anthony Joshua never trash talks, his personality is more serious unlike Tyson Fury who is more like a playboy,” Ngannou said.
“I think when it comes to fighting, they both know how to fight and that’s what I’m focused on. He might have been nervous but that doesn’t mean anything, in fact I think being nervous means he is taking things very seriously. It’s very important because he’s going to do his best to show up on the day with everything.”