Tyson Fury finds himself in the center of scrutiny. Earlier this year, he was subject to criticism for facing Francis Ngannou instead of a unification bout against Oleksandr Usyk. However, little did the boxing fans know that ‘The Predator’ would end up giving Fury one of his toughest fights. Many boxing pundits and fans believe that Ngannou might have even won the decision if the judges were different.
In a recent turn of events, the trainer of Ngannou and former heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson, recently came forward to defend Fury’s performance. In his conversation, he dove into the criticism Tyson Fury is currently facing.
‘Iron Mike,’ put on his trainer’s hat and prepared the former UFC champ to face Fury. When the two finally squared off, Ngannou knocked Tyson down in the third round. The later rounds weren’t easy for Fury either. The boxing world was very critical of ‘The Gypsy King,’ despite his laborious win.
For a better part of the month, since the end of the fight, Fury has been facing a barrage of criticism from people who think that his fighting days are over. However, according to Iron Mike, the WBC heavyweight champion does not deserve the hate that is coming his way.
Reflecting on the same, in an interview with Fight Hub TV, he stated, “You gotta understand, he’s still the champion. He made that night a great night. He gave Francis the opportunity. And this was just a bad night at the office for him. We all have a bad night and listen, that was his bad night.”
It would be reasonable to say that Tyson, to an extent, acknowledged the performance of Fury and commended him for giving a boxing novice like Ngannou a shot. However, at the same time, Tyson finds Ngannou to be worthy of praise for rising up to the occasion and putting his best foot forward.
In another recent interview, ‘Iron Mike,’ gave Ngannou his due credit for not only fighting one of the greatest boxers in his boxing debut but also for giving him a tough fight. His will and skills demand credit. At the recent WBC convention, he stated, “He did a great job with the greatest fighter of our time. First time boxing, faces the heavyweight champion, the greatest heavyweight of his era. He deserves a lot of credits after that.”
