John Fury has said Anthony Joshua’s upcoming fight with Francis Ngannou could be his “last hurrah”. Speaking to me for Betfred Insights in association with FreeBets.com, the father of WBC champion Tyson Fury went as far as to say he’ll “be surprised if this fight takes place”, before adding, “It’s not a good move is it?”.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou gave Tyson Fury fits when they faced each other in October. The boxing debutant knocked down ‘The Gypsy King’ in the third round and ran him extremely close on the scorecards before losing a split decision.
John was present in Saudi Arabia for that tough non-title affair. The 59-year-old boxing trainer recalls, “When I got off that plane a week before I looked at him and went “You don't look right”. When we got done with four rounds of sparring he couldn't get his breath. That was a week before the fight.”
As for whether Joshua can better his son’s performance, Fury highlighted the stylistic differences between the WBC boss and the Olympic gold medalist. “Looking at just how Tyson performed, we're taking nothing away from Ngannou. If you’re not tricky, like Tyson, Ngannou will knock you spark out. Don't worry about that.”
Joshua’s December destruction of Otto Wallin, a five-round demolition job at Day of Reckoning in Saudi Arabia, did little to impress Fury. While most fans and pundits credited the display as the best ‘AJ’ fight in years, ex-pro John was unmoved.
“You can't gauge AJ on how he looked for (Otto) Wallin, because Wallin crapped himself. He didn't want to fight. He’d come for the money because some fighters, they’re beat before they start. He had his number. He saw AJ stood like a big Adonis and obviously the muscle situation frightened the life out of Wallin.”
While asserting that “Wallin crapped himself”, Fury doesn’t see Ngannou experiencing the same fear. “I think Ngannou stands a very good chance of beating any heavyweight in the entire world today. He’s good, powerful, he’s there in your face isn’t he? He ain’t going anywhere.”
“AJ would have to show a different set of balls than in any of his other fights, messing with Ngannou. Because don't forget Tyson is a tricky heavyweight, he’s slipping most of the shots. But he still caught Tyson.”
Of course it wouldn’t be an interview with a Fury about Anthony Joshua without the idea of the two elite Englishmen facing off being raised. ‘Big John’ is certain how that one would go, saying of Joshua and Ngannou, “Tyson, on form, beats the two of them in the same night.”
While you’d put nothing past Turki Alalshikh and his ambitious plans for Saudi boxing eventually accommodating such a round-robin, for now the three combatants have enough to worry about. For Tyson Fury, it is recovering from his cut and arriving for his May clash with fellow champion Oleksandr Usyk in peak condition. For Joshua and Ngannou, they are set for a collision course this March. The first half of the year is going to be an exciting one in the heavyweight division, that’s for sure.
John Fury spoke courtesy of FreeBets.com
