John Fury has torn into his son Tyson’s ‘f***ing stupid game plan’ against Francis Ngannou – and says he must ‘change everything’ in order to defeat Oleksandr Usyk in February.
The Gypsy King edged to an unconvincing split decision victory over the MMA star in the epic crossover bout in Saudi Arabia last month and looked flat – with the Cameroonian sending him to the canvas in round three.
Some punters believed Ngannou should have emerged victorious in what would have been one of the biggest shocks in boxing history – having taken up his first boxing fight against the heavyweight champion of the world.
Tyson survived the shock to set up an undisputed title fight against Usyk on February 17 next year, but his father was scathing of his performance and believes he will be beaten for the first time in his career if he doesn’t improve when facing the Ukrainian.
Refusing to hold back on his display, Fury Snr said Tyson should have fought on the back foot, said his conditioning was poor, that he hadn’t trained properly and claimed he looked like he was ‘somewhere else’.
John Fury has hit out at his son Tyson ‘f***ing stupid game plan’ against Francis Ngannou
Tyson Fury was almost shocked by the MMA star as he was sent to the canvas in round three before winning on points
‘There was a lot wrong with it,’ he told Mail Sport, via Free Bets UK. ‘His physical condition could have been a lot better. The game plan – there wasn’t one. At the end of the day, he does his thing again. But it could have been a lot better.
‘For my money, he hadn’t trained the way he should have done for that fight and I don’t mean physically, I mean a game plan. His game plan should have been box and move be clever, be witty, outsmart him, but what happened? He tried to break a ten tonne bulldozer with a toffee hammer.
‘Tyson, he looked fat thin to me. His condition, his body didn’t look right from the off. He was somewhere else, Tyson. I don’t know whether he couldn’t get up for the fight. That wasn’t Tyson in there. He still does enough to win. He won the fight no matter what people think, but he made it difficult for himself with that game plan. It was f***ing stupid basically.
‘You don’t meet an express train head on, do you? On the ability Tyson’s got, he should have trained for the back foot, slipping and sliding, the same style for when he fought Wladimir Klitschko. Then he would have made Ngannou look silly and he would have run out of ideas.’
Fury Snr said his son ‘didn’t look’ right and criticised his conditioning and preparation
He said the Gypsy King needs to ‘change everything’ if he wants to beat Oleksandr Usyk in their undisputed title fight next year
Tyson was given the win on one scorecard of 96-93 and another of 95-94 – while the third judge awarded the fight to Nganno 95-94 over the ten-round clash.
Fury Snr insisted that complanency had seeped into his camp in the build-up as much of the talk around this fight revolved around Ngannou’s inexperience in a boxing ring.
‘He’s well experienced, Tyson, but when you’ve got people all around you telling him ‘the man’s never had a boxing match before, he’s never done this and that’, it can build complacency,’ he added.
‘I think that could have had a lot to do with it. I’m not taking anything away from Francis Ngannou. His tactics were bang on, he kept the presure on. He knew after two rounds, the gameplan Tyson had was suiting him. They made no adjustments, and that’s how he hit the floor. Get greedy at that weight – you get it wrong for a split second you’re on the deck, no matter who you are.
Fury Snr said his son’s camp didn’t listen to him – as he accused him of complacency in Saudi
‘The kid is strong – he didn’t seem to tire at all. Tyson was like the rock of Gibraltar. He should have used his legs and being around the ring. But they hadn’t trained for that.
‘I wasn’t in the camp because I was with Tommy. When I got off the plane, I saw him spar and I thought “something’s wrong here”. There’s loads to improve on – I’d say everything. Tyson is a class act, but that can also add a bit of complacency to your work.
He said Fury’s camp would not listen to his guidance and insiste his son had to ‘change everything’ from this fight in order to beat Usyk – who holds three world title belts at present.
‘People think I know what’s going on in the training camps, but I don’t,’ he added.
He says whoever has the best camp between Fury and Usyk will be victorious on February 17
‘I don’t have anything to do with it. I should do – but they don’t listen to daddy. I know what you’ve got to do for this one. You’ve got to go down a different road completely.
Tyson will have the eye of the tiger back for this one, he’ll need to change everything round. He’ll need to do everything different and gain some solid muscle and put some work in – crack his balls working and when he does that, Usyk’s going to have a problem. He won’t be facing this negative Tyson that you saw with a s*** game plan.
‘I’m going to say it first. Whoever puts the best camp in and does the work will get it and deserve it. If Usyk puts a better camp in that Tyson, he works his a** off, he gets everything right, the better man will win.
‘It’s up to both guys what they want out of this. Tyson knows he needs an 180 degree turnaround. If he’s not prepared to do that, good luck to Usyk.
