Tyson Fury gives Anthony Joshua the edge tonight against Francis Ngannou based on his experience level. However, Fury feels that the former heavyweight champion Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) could come unglued if he chooses to trade with the powerful Ngannou as he did.
Fury is still convinced that he deserved his controversial 10-round split decision victory over Ngannou last October, and he thinks Joshua will do well if he can stay on the outside to box.
Ngannou still had success even when Fury was boxing him, so it’s unclear whether Joshua can keep from getting hit by jabbing and moving all night. That’s obviously the strategy that Joshua will be using. He’s not crazy.
He’ll follow the same game plan that he employed in his rematch with Andy Ruiz Jr. in December and hope that Ngannou’s foot speed prevents him from cutting off the ring.
In that fight, Joshua tied up Ruiz when he would cut off the ring, but he wasn’t facing a former MMA guy who knows how to free himself from clinch the way Ngannous does.
Fury’s Cautionary Tale
“I’m looking for an explosive fight. If Joshua uses his jab and uses his feet, he wins comfortably, but if he gets involved, he could get tagged like I did,” said Tyson Fury to DAZN Boxing, giving his break down of tonight’s Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou fight.
“I should have probably used my jab and danced around him, but I tried to jump in with some big power shots and bang-bank,” Fury continued about his fight against Ngannou last October.
Fury still would have had problems if he’d just jabbed and moved against Ngannou because he lacked the mobility of his youth to keep from getting trapped repeatedly in that fight. If Fury had moved more, he’d have emptied his tank, and likely would have been knocked out.
He’s not the fighter that he once was back in 2015 when he upset 40-year-old Wladimir Klitschko at the end of his career, so his ‘What if’ talk means nothing to the fighter he is today. Joshua is carrying too much muscle for him to follow the fight strategy that Fury feels would bring him success. He would need to be back at 220 at his amateur weight to move for 12 rounds against Ngannou.
“I was having a lot of success early with the one-two, and he was taking it to his credit. So, I got a little bit greedy and ended up on the seat of my pants,” said Fury.
Ngannou: Limited Killer Instinct
“What I will say is with his limited boxing experience, he doesn’t really have the ability after he’s landed and hurt someone, he doesn’t have the ability to set more shots off against an elite-level boxer to get them out of there,” Fury said about Ngannou.
Fury was getting hit repeatedly by Ngannou in close, and he was lucky that he didn’t get finished off after he was dropped.
“But hey, Joshua isn’t as elusive as I am. Even on my worst night, he’s not as elusive as I am. So, he might land on him and who knows? If he [Ngannou] lands on him and he can’t take the power, he could be on the seat of his a** like I was. I’m looking forward to seeing who wins the fight,” said Fury about tonight’s clash between Joshua and Ngannou.
Tyson Fury very honest on AJ vs Ngannou ðŸ’
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