Jon Jones Praises Ngannou’s Performance Against Fury – ‘He Did Great’
In some boxing and MMA news, Jon Jones gave Francis Ngannou his credit for the latter’s performance on his boxing debut against Tyson Fury.
Ngannou defied all expectations by putting on a performance that brought him on the cusp of victory. Not only did the MMA fighter manage to last the distance, but the former UFC heavyweight champion rattled Fury.
Ngannou sent the WBC heavyweight champion to the canvas in the third round, as the Gypsy King struggled to figure out his opponent.
And at a time when Fury was expected to dominate his opponent, Ngannou almost upset the apple cart. With that being said, Jones was impressed by what he had seen of Ngannou’s performance.
Jones On Ngannou
“I thought he did great. I’m glad the fight was competitive. Opens so many doors for everyone in the future,” Jones said
Much in the same way, Teddy Atlas was very vocal about what he had seen. The former trainer felt that Fury was shocked by the performance that Ngannou was putting on throughout the fight.
Ngannou defied the pre-narrative heading into the fight by putting on a commendable performance. Despite suffering a split-decision loss, Ngannou pushed Fury on the back foot numerous times.
Having said that, though, Fury managed to recover by working behind the jab to secure the victory in a rather unconvincing win. In response, this is what Atlas had to say.
Atlas On Ngannou
“In the early part, I had Ngannou winning with the knockdown. He shocked everyone, got the lead, but then Fury seemed to get himself together, using the jab and connecting with some good right hands. The thing that really kept Ngannou in the fight was his chin.
“When he got hit with those right hands, he absorbed them, and that kept him in it. His technique was better than anyone expected. He was able to use his jab to nullify Fury’s jab a little bit or at least keeping Fury from dominating him with his jab, and he did one other thing. He used his jab, and he took small steps, little steps to get in instead of trying to get in all at once. That served him really well, and he did a heck of a job. He shocked the heck out of Fury,” Atlas stated
Nevertheless, Fury managed to get over the line. And the win kept the undisputed heavyweight championship bout with Oleksandr Usyk alive.
As for Ngannou, the performance has increased the MMA fighter’s standing with potential fights against Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder being mentioned.
Despite this being the case, there are question marks over whether the performance was a one-off. There is an argument that Fury could have overlooked his opponent, while Ngannou simply rose to the occasion due to the magnitude of the fight.
Regardless of what the case may be, Ngannou has put himself in a position for the biggest fights. And there is not getting away from that. Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingblitz.
