Fury Says He Didn't Train Seriously For Ngannou

Tyson Fury says he never took his 2023 split decision win over Francis Ngannou seriously enough to train properly, despite Ngannou dropping him during the bout.

"No, I didn't not train for him because I didn't think he was a good fighter. I knew he was a good fighter, but to me it's levels to boxing. So if I'm fighting a world champion, then in my mind, he's a world champion, everything's good. But when you do an exhibition fight, play, it wasn't really a fight, do you understand what I'm saying. It wasn't, in my mind, a fight, it's just an exhibition, a game. To him, to Ngannou, it was, 'Aaaah, big fight, I fight Tyson Fury!' To me, it was play, a game, you know what I mean?" Fury

Ngannou couldn't repeat the performance against Anthony Joshua in March 2024, suffering a second-round knockout loss, and hasn't boxed since — though he's returned to MMA with knockout wins over Renan Ferreira and Philipe Lins.

Fury, meanwhile, has gone 2-0 since his back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk, beating Arslanbek Makhmudov by decision in April and stopping Mariusz Wach in July.