Kingdome Arena: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
No one really could have seen it play out the way it did. But this is boxing and anything can happen. Francis Ngannou, the PFL’s newest superstar almost shocked the world. However, it was by the skin of his teeth that Tyson Fury still has a “0” in his loss column. And the Englishman is also lucky that his titles weren’t on the line either.
Not that a loss would have totally crippled his battle for undisputed, but it would have put a monkey wrench in it. With the split decision win for Fury (95-94, 96-93, 95-94); he can set his eyes on the next target. Although, Frank Warren was hesitant to say yes it’s still back in Saudi on December 23rd versus Oleksandr Usyk. Fury himself at first said he wants to rest up and talk to the team to see what’s next. Then once Usyk was brought into the ring, they both said they wanted to do it two-days before Christmas.
The big shock though, still remains the ability of Ngannou to pick up the sport in four-months. Have superb footwork, a solid gameplan that he kept to for the majority of the fight, despite getting a little gassed. He wasn’t pushed around by Fury due to his freakish strength. He had a left hook working and going to the body early on that could have put others away. Did Fury take him too lightly? That’s a hard call. But he realized early on, it wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought. Especially getting dropped in the third round. But from then till the “championship rounds”; he boxed with a snapping jab. Just at the same time Ngannou was starting to feel the cardio slip. And Ngannou switching stances so easily wasn’t expected either.
Does Fury Win Easy Again Or Is It By The Skin Of His Teeth From Here On Out
It’s been almost a year since Fury fought. And he himself while praising Ngannou did mention the “R” word again. Not retirement… but RUST. And there may have been some. But while he wanted to start fast, and get Ngannou out of there, there was plenty of standing and thinking by the WBC champion. And not just feinting either.
His wife, Paris has said she’s been pushing him to call it a career. As a matter of fact she didn’t even know till it was brought up to her a battle with Usyk also guaranteed a rematch. He said he’d like to do it again with Ngannou too. And if he’s showing the first signs of slowing down now; three more battles may be a bit much.
Lets face it, Fury is an incredible talent with a skillset that he has mastered. Push around smaller opponents. And he may very well be able to do that with Usyk. Only one problem. Usyk has much better footwork, and is a bulldog in the ring. Not that Fury doesn’t have a high in-ring IQ; but Usyk’s is better. And the mindset he has is all business. Add to the fact that when they do fight for UNDISPUTED, Usyk will have most of the planet on his side (as long as Russia is still at war with Ukraine). So his focus will be pin-point. Fury was, is, and always will be a fighter that can get distracted.
Now Ngannou might not be able to get out of his PFL deal, but against Deontay Wilder or Anthony Joshua could be very interesting. Especially if his learning curve continues.
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