By Dan Ambrose: Trainer Andy Lee says Tyson Fury will “get the last laugh” on his critics after he defeats Oleksandr Usyk to become the undisputed heavyweight champion later this year in December.
Lee doesn’t seem as excited about Fury’s non-title fight against non-boxer Francis Ngannou this Saturday, October 28th, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Andy sees the Ngannou fight as a “massive event” but notes that boxing fans feel that Francis doesn’t “deserve” to be fighting the heavyweight champion of the world, even though Tyson’s WBC title won’t be at stake.
Fury-Ngannou counts on official records
It’s difficult for people to understand because this kind of stuff wouldn’t happen in other professional sports like the NFL, NBA, NHL & MLB. For instance, you can’t have a professional bowling team play a top NBA team, and it is allowed to count on the record as part of league play.
That would make a joke of the NBA if they allowed a non-basketball team to enter the league for one game and then exit to return to their sport. Fury’s fight with Ngannou will count on his record because the fight has been sanctioned by the British Boxing Board of Control.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. was criticized in 2017 by MMA fighter Conor McGregor in a crossover clash sanctioned as a professional fight in boxing. Mayweather broke boxing great Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 record with the win over McGregor, and it was a horrible way of breaking a record.
The fact that boxing now allows people from other sports to walk in and immediately fight top boxers and have the contest count on the record is beyond words. It shows that boxing needs to change to eliminate this practice.
“He’s fighting Ngannou. It’s a massive event, I guess. As a boxing purist, you think, ‘This guy has never had a fight, and he can walk in and fight the heavyweight champion. He doesn’t deserve to be in there,‘ but I guess it’s just an event,” said Andy Lee to Boxing Social about Francis Ngannou taking on Tyson Fury in his first fight as a professional.
Ngannou doesn’t deserve to fight Fury in a one-off event without earning his stripes like any other fighter in the heavyweight division.
Should Fury be stripped of WBC title?
We don’t see Fury fighting inexperienced contenders like Jared Anderson, Arslanbek Makhmudov, and Frank Sanchez because they haven’t earned the shot yet, even though they’re undefeated. So why is Ngannou getting a shot against Fury in his first pro fight with zero experience?
Yes, it’s business, but it shouldn’t be allowed. If Fury won’t even fight the top contenders, he should be permitted to face a non-boxer.
Fury should be stripped of his WBC title for freezing it and facing a non-boxer because he’s not giving someone a chance to fight for his belt and just holding that title hostage.
“I asked Bob Arum last night what the reports in Las Vegas about Ngannou, and he said that he can’t really box, but he can punch and knock a wall down with his right hand,” said Lee. “So you always got to be wary of that.
“He’s very hungry, motivated, determined. You can’t underestimate anybody, but I have no fears because I know how Tyson trained. He’s done his work like he’s fighting Wilder or anybody else. More work, if not. So, no stone unturned.”
Will Fury’s weight loss affect his punch resistance?
Ngannou definitely has the power to hurt Fury and knock him out. We’ve seen Fury get dropped numerous times by Deontay Wilder, but he survived. If Ngannou gets to Fury’s chin, he can put him down. Fury was hurt so many times by Wilder, and it could be that his punch resistance has been impaired from those knockdowns.
Moreover, Fury lost a lot of weight in training camp, and if a fighter loses 100+ lbs like Fury has, it can impair their ability to take a shot.
Will Tyson get the last laugh?
“It’s very frustrating to me as a friend of Tyson and someone who, I don’t know the ins and outs of it all, but I’ve been privy to some of it,” said Lee about critics believing that Fury has ducked Oleksandr Usyk. “I know the fights Tyson has tried to make, and I know the deals he’s tried to make and what he’s done to try and make those fights. They haven’t happened but through no fault of his own.
“For me to watch it on Twitter and whatever it is and see the criticism from people who have no idea and no clue what’s happening. They couldn’t be further away from the truth; these so-called reporters, who have their inside source, couldn’t be farther away from the truth,” said Lee.
It’s already been established that Fury didn’t want to fight Usyk, as he said it himself many times. Naturally, fans saw that as a fear-based situation for Fury because why wouldn’t he want to face Usyk for the undisputed championship?
“It can be quite frustrating,” said Lee. “Now it’s all coming. Tyson is going to have the last laugh. It’s the fight everybody wants to see, isn’t it?” said Lee about the Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk undisputed heavyweight championship.
“It’s a fight that boxing needs. It would be good to have a unified champion in all the divisions. Someone that everyone is aiming for. When Tyson beats Usyk, it’ll erase any doubts that he’s #1 in the world,” said Lee.
