Johnny Nelson: Tyson Fury Is ‘Getting Turned Over In The Gym’
Johnny Nelson feels Tyson Fury may not be the same fighter after rumors he has suffered in sparring.
The concerns over Fury’s form started following his last performance against Francis Ngannou. The WBC Heavyweight Champion was dropped in the third round. He looked out of form as he struggled to deal with Ngannou. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion was making his boxing debut, so the performance was a shock.
Although Fury won a split decision, some felt he had been lucky to get away with a win. After the fight, Fury denied overlooking his man. He revealed he had prepared for the fight to the best of his ability. That has now raised concerns that Fury’s legs have gone, which has only been fuelled by rumours that Nelson has been hearing.
Nelson On Fury
“I’m hearing rumours of what’s happening in camp – I’m hearing that he’s getting turned over in the gym. So this thing about appetite when he’s in the gym, I mean, he got shown his a***.“ I’m hearing these things and I’m thinking has he taken his eye off the ball, or has time caught up with him?
“The reason why I said ‘the legs are gone’ line is that I remember Tony Bellew saying it about David Haye and at first I was like ‘what?’, but when I saw it I knew what he was talking about. “I might be saying something that might not be too popular – I expect him to win, I just think he dropped the ball in the last fight. “These rumours I’m hearing, I hope they’re just rumours set about by him,” Nelson said
One of the rumours that has been emerging involved Jai Opetaia dropping Fury in sparring. The Australian was brought in as a sparring partner to mimic Usyk. Opetaia is a cruiserweight, just as Usyk was at one point, and a southpaw, making him the ideal candidate to replicate Usyk. Although that may have been the case, Opetaia left the camp early. Reporter Ben Damon claimed he only did five rounds, which increased speculation that he had dropped Fury.
Opetaia vs. Fury
“Jai Opetaia did five rounds of sparring with Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia but with a lack of orthodox sparring in Fury’s camp Opetaia has now returned to Australia to continue his own preparations for the planned Mairis Briedis rematch,” Damon said
Opetaia’s team responded to this, denying that this had happened, leaving boxing fans with a decision to make over Fury’s form.
“Jai Opetaia has recently returned from Saudi Arabia, where he sparred and trained with Tyson Fury. They were fantastic, competitive rounds and an incredible experience for Jai. However, any talk of either boxer being dropped is not true. Jai is now back in Australia finalising his preparation to defend his [Ring] title and cannot wait to do so in Saudi Arabia,” Tasman Fighters stated
One thing Fury has shown is his ability to rise to the occasion. That is something that will play in his favor come fight night. Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.
