By Jim Calfa: Tyson Fury, looking incredibly flabby, couldn’t push back the stone-wall-like Francis Ngannou when the two came head-to-head at the end of today’s press conference in Saudi Arabia.
You can’t rule out an upset on Saturday night because Fury hasn’t had a real fight in two years, and he’s taken off a lot of weight in an extended training camp.
Fury didn’t look as powerful today as he’d been in recent fights, which is understandable due to his rapid weight loss program. When you take off the kind of weight Fury has in the last 14 weeks, you lose muscle & strength along with all the fat.
As such, it wouldn’t be a shock if Fury tasted defeat for the first time in his career, and while it’s great for him that his WBC title won’t be on the line, his unbeaten 33-0 record would be marred.
That would be a blow to Fury because he’s cultivated his record like a potted plant, feeding it with lesser fighters like Dereck Chisora, Otto Wallin & Dillian Whyte while swerving the dangerous ones for its cultivation like Anthony Joshua, Arslanbek Makhmudov, Jared Anderson, Zhilei Zhang, and Oleksandr Usyk.
You could tell how powerful Ngannou was when he stood beside Fury and pushed him back with his head. Ngannnou’s physique is pure muscle and not loaded with flab like Fury’s, which could be a problem for Tyson if he tries to maul him.
That style has become Fury’s bread & butter since adding Sugarhill Steward to his team as his head coach, arguably saving him from losing to Deontay Wilder in their three fights.
However, Ngannou isn’t the type of fighter Fury can use his mauling style against because his physique is more sturdy than the guys Tyson has been fighting recently, and he’s an excellent grappler. So, if Fury is counting on tiring Ngannou out by leaning on him, he could be in a world of hurt on Saturday night.
Fury wasn’t kidding when he said that he’d lost over 100 lbs in camp, as he looks considerably thinner than he did before he started camp.
That being said, Fury is still badly out of shape and looked even flabbier than his 59-year-old dad, John Fury, who, for some reason, had his shirt off and was blocking the view of the head-to-head between Tyson & Ngannou during today’s press conference. The security pulled John away from blocking the face-off, which was a good thing.
Although Fury had more size than Ngannou, the absence of muscle made it impossible for the listed 6’9″ Fury to move the former UFC champion back.
What was clear is that Fury is more like 6’7″, not 6’9″, and that he must have been fat as a hog when he started training camp 14 weeks ago because he still looks obese and not nearly in the kind of condition that he’s been in the past for his most important fights against Deontay Wilder & Wladimir Klitschko.
Fury’s face upper neck looks thinner, but his midsection is fatter than ever, and it’s apparent that he would need another eight weeks to trim off the remaining lard that he’s accumulated from good eating since his last fight if you want to call it that, against 40-year-old journeyman Derekc Chisora, last December.
“I’m happy. I’m getting paid, and that’s it. What is there not to be happy about? I’m getting paid for doing something I love and getting paid to keep fit and out of trouble. So, it ain’t too shabby,” said Tyson Fury to iFL TV, about how he’s glad to be getting a mountain of dough for his crossover bout against Francis Ngannou on Saturday.
“Whenever I want to, literally,” said Fury about him being able to knock out Ngannou whenever he wants on Saturday.
“I’m shredded. I’m like an Adonis in shape, ready to smash someone’s shape right in,” said a shirtless Tyson Fury to TNT Sports moments after his final press conference with Francis Ngannou ended today.
Steve Bunce: “That person is the nicest guy in the world, Francis Nganou.”
“He’s not the nicest guy in the world on Saturday night. I’m going chin him,” said Fury. “We’re the worst enemies for 30 minutes, and then we can be best friends after that.”
