By Brian Webber: Trainer Teddy Atlas says Tyson Fury received a huge shock with the tough time that non-boxer Francis Ngannou gave him last weekend when he came close to beating him to become the lineal heavyweight champion.
Atlas says that he had Ngannou winning the early rounds when he dropped Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs), but Tyson came on later behind his jab & right hand shots to get the victory.
Fury’s physique looked like he’d lost a lot of muscle since his fights with Deontay Wilder and put on fat around his midsection.
You can tell from looking at Fury, he took the weight off quickly in camp, and by doing so, he lost muscle. Before Fury started camp, he looked like he was well over 300 lbs. It’s a credit that he was able to get down to 277 lbs, but he lost too much muscle by timing the weight quickly.
The judges gave Fury many rounds in the second half, liking the work he was doing with his jab. In the eyes of the boxing & MMA world, Ngannou won the fight, and they view him as the uncrowned champion.
The tainted victory hurts Fury’s reputation, which has already taken a lot due to him swerving the dangerous heavyweights in the division in favor of defending against Dereck Chisora & Dillian Whyte.
Ngannou’s punch resistance kept him in the fight, as he could take Fury’s best right-hand shots. However, Fury’s power didn’t look formidable, so it wasn’t a big surprise that Ngannou was able to take them.
Atlas didn’t mention it, but Fury was paying the price when he would throw right hands because Ngannou was making him pay by countering him with left hooks and did not like getting hit with shots. They were far more damaging than Fury’s moderate-powered right hands, the equivalent of a light heavyweight’s power.
“In the early part, I had Ngannou winning with the knockdown. He shocked everyone, got the lead, but then Fury seemed to get himself together, using the jab and connecting with some good right hands,” said Teddy Atlas to Fight Hub TV, discussing Tyson Fury’s fight with Francis Ngannou last Saturday.
“The thing that really kept Ngannou in the fight was his chin. When he got hit with those right hands, he absorbed them, and that kept him in it. His technique was better than anyone expected.
“He was able to use his jab to nullify Fury’s jab a little bit or at least keeping Fury from dominating him with his jab, and he did one other thing. He didn’t help Fury beat him by doing what a lot of times what beginners do, novice guys do, by reaching in with big punches. He didn’t do that.
“He did it by the textbook,” Atlas said about Ngannou. “He used his jab, and he took small steps, little steps to get in instead of trying to get in all at once. That served him really well, and he did a heck of a job. He shocked the heck out of Fury.”
Atlas says that Fury may have suffered a concussion from the left hook that Ngannou dropped him with in the third round. He looked out of it for a second while he was down.
“When you have that power, when you have that great eraser, you can make up for a lot of sins,” said Atlas. “You can suddenly clear the board, and he [Ngannou] came very close to doing that.
“I don’t know if it’s going to change anything. He didn’t get hurt. He possibly got concussed from that punch on the top of the head,” said Atlas about Fury.
If Fury did receive a concussion, it’s a good thing that he’s postponing his fight with Oleksandr Usyk until next year. Tyson suffered a black eye during the fight and looked marked around the face.
“He looked fine, he’s got enough time. The thing I would be worried about as a trainer,” said Atlas. “If he goes back to back camps, he could overtrain and leave something in the gym. He needs that strength to get through.
“That’s something his trainers, and they’re good trainers, they’re going to have to navigate that.
“Nobody would say that he shouldn’t get in the ring again,” said Atlas about Ngannou.
