Once touted as one of the best heavyweight boxers, Gypsy King Tyson Fury’s reputation has become tainted due, in large part, to his October bout with Francis Ngannou.
Although Fury had won the match, he lost the faith of many of his supporters, not only because of his unusually dismal performance but also because of his controversial win.
And suspecting that Fury may have already lost his touch, George Groves, a former pro boxer, reckons that Tyson Fury won’t be fighting on December 23rd, even though he could be facing a huge legal bill of up to £200 million. He also thinks that the Gypsy King might be ready to call it quits after his close-fought win over Francis Ngannou.
“There is not a chance the Usyk fight is happening on that date. It is not Usyk on December 23, I don’t think it’s Usyk next,” he said to Sky Sports.
“I think it’s either Ngannou or that’s the last of Fury…I think he is going to either rectify the last fight against Ngannou, which he will get paid a lot of money for and a lot of people would be interested in. He will train better and show up and perform. Or he might retire,”Groves added.
The Gypsy King
Almost everyone agreed that it wasn’t Fury’s best performance, and that he was, in fact,overpowered by Ngannou at several points of their match.
But was that one bad performance enough for Fury to rethink his entire career?
Well, Spencer Brown (Fury’s manager) and Carl Froch begged to disagree. According to them, Fury has no intentions of forfeiting his boxing career yet.
In a statement, Brown dismissed Fury’s retirement rumors, declaring, “There is absolutely no truth in this, none whatsoever. Tyson is raring to go.”
Moreover, former pro boxer Carl Froch also refused to believe that the Gypsy King Fury is ready to throw in the towel.
In his Youtube Channel, “Froch on fighting”, Froch said that retirement was simply not an option for Fury, especially after his last fight.
“He can’t retire off the back of that fight with Ngannou. He just can’t. It would be like me retiring on the back of the first George Groves fight. Although I still think [referee] Howard Foster did the correct thing when he stopped the right … the way it had been received, it felt like a loss.”
Controversial win of Fury over Ngannou
At the outset of the fight, it was clear that Ngannou was clearly not your ordinary amateur. Despite his inexperience in professional boxing, he was able to land powerful blows in Fury’s way without hesitation. On the offensive end of the fight, Fury had the upper hand in the initial rounds of the contest and even managed to knock Fury out in the third.
Fury showed no signs of backing down, and the match stretched to ten rounds. Awaiting the results, the spectators were expecting Ngannou to be declared the winner.
But lo and behold, as the judge’s scorecards were revealed, 94-95, 96-93, 95-94 in favor of Fury, the audience was shocked and suspicious. Online, the decision was also met with opposition and rage from the boxing community, including NBA superstars LeBron James and Damian Lillard.
Cover Photo: YouTube