October 29th 2023.
Tyson Fury's split-decision victory over Francis Ngannou has left fans wondering if the Gypsy King's performance was 'for show'. It was expected that the 37-year-old former UFC heavyweight champion would be easily defeated, but instead, he put up a fight that left Fury with a bloodied and bruised face.
The result of the fight and Fury's performance has left serious question marks regarding his upcoming undisputed fight with Oleksandr Usyk, who holds the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight belts. Usyk has confirmed the date of their unification bout, which is 23 of December. Fury also confirmed this saying “It’ll be our next fight, don’t you worry about that.”
Usyk had a cheeky grin on his face when asked what he made of Fury’s underwhelming outing in Riyadh on Saturday night. He suggested that it was either underperformance or underestimation. He said: “I had an impression that he was playing. I’m not thinking about [whether he was playing possum] but I will be training 100 per cent. But listen, it’s boxing. Maybe it was the element of surprise. Maybe.”
In another interview with Fight Hub TV, Usyk said of Fury’s display: “I think it was show. See you 23 December.” When asked if it gave him more confidence to beat Fury, Usyk added: “I don’t know, I have no idea. Listen, [Ngannou] is a world champion at MMA, that was a hard punch. Then there’s the element of surprise. Maybe Tyson Fury didn’t take it serious, “Oh it’s an MMA fighter blah blah blah”. I don’t know. Of course I was surprised [by the knockdown]. I watched the knockdown and I said, “Oh, oh, oh Francis! Be careful please!” I was saying, “Tyson! Jab, jab jab, move, jab!” I was saying that!”
Usyk and Fury are finally set to fight on the 23rd of December, and both fighters have confirmed their readiness. We can only wait and see if the Gypsy King will need a massive improvement against Usyk or will his performance be 'for show' again.
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