Fury Says He Never Trained For Ngannou Fight

Tyson Fury now says he never trained for Francis Ngannou ahead of their October 2023 bout in Saudi Arabia.

The former heavyweight champion told ALF Global he approached the crossover match as an exhibition rather than a competitive fight, despite Ngannou dropping him in the third round and nearly pulling off one of boxing's biggest upsets. "It wasn't, in my mind, a fight, it's just an exhibition, a game," Fury said, per MMA Fighting. "To him, to Ngannou, it was, 'Aaaah, big fight, I fight Tyson Fury!' To me, it was play."

Why Fury's Preparation Claims Raise Questions

Fury survived that knockdown to edge a split decision that many observers scored for the former UFC heavyweight champion. The Cameroonian's performance shocked boxing experts who expected Fury to dominate from the opening bell. Fury insisted his lack of camp had nothing to do with disrespecting Ngannou's ability. "I didn't not train for him because I didn't think he was a good fighter," he said. "I knew he was a good fighter, but to me it's levels to boxing."

Ngannou did not find the same success in his next outing. Anthony Joshua stopped him in two rounds in March 2024, handing the crossover star his first boxing knockout loss. Ngannou has since returned to MMA, finishing Renan Ferreira and Philipe Lins in PFL bouts.

Fury has gone 2-0 since dropping two decisions to Oleksandr Usyk for the unified heavyweight titles. He won a unanimous decision over Arslanbek Makhmudov in April and stopped Mariusz Wach by TKO in July.

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• BJPenn — Tyson Fury claims he never trained for Francis Ngannou in controversial 2023 win: “It’s just an exhibition”