‘Tyson Fury changed his tune!’: Fans spot stark difference between pre- and post-fight interviews for the Gypsy King as he tries to duck a December 23 clash with Oleksandr Usyk after scare from Francis Ngannou
- Tyson Fury beat Francis Ngannou on points on Saturday
- Fury is scheduled to fight Usyk in Saudi Arabia on December 23
- LISTEN: Exclusive Tyson Fury interview on THE HOOK – our new boxing podcast
Boxing fans believe Tyson Fury may be far more reluctant to fight Oleksandr Usyk after narrowly avoiding defeat against Francis Ngannou.
The Gypsy King controversially beat the former MMA star by split decision in Riyadh on Saturday night to maintain his unbeaten record.
The verdict was widely panned within the boxing world and beyond, particularly as Ngannou, who was making his professional boxing debut, knocked Fury down in the third round.
The WBC heavyweight champion survived the count and went on the secure a narrow win, which has cast doubts over his upcoming undisputed fight against Usyk in Saudi Arabia two months from now.
Fury did little to dispel doubts the fight on December 23 may be postponed.
‘We’ll put the biggest fight of our generation on,’ he said on Sunday.
Tyson Fury controversially beat Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night
The former MMA star knocked down Fury in the third round of his first pro boxing bout
Fury is scheduled to fight Oleksandr Usyk (right) in Saudi Arabia on December 23
‘The fight of the century for the undisputed [heavyweight] championships of the world. See you all sometime next year.
‘Have a good Christmas if I don’t see you and a happy New Year.’
His comments were in stark contrast with his remarks before the fight, in which he was adamant the undisputed fight with Usyk would take place in December.
‘Usyk has got to fight in December,’ he bullishly told Sky Sports.
‘He doesn’t have a choice. He signed the contract, so if he doesn’t [fight] he’s breached the contract and he gets sued.’
The two interviews were juxtaposed on social media, where boxing fans noted the Gypsy King had drastically changed his tone after his narrow escape against Ngannou.
‘As per usual Fury doesn’t fight. Hasn’t fought Aj, Usyk, Joyce, Parker, Zhang, Povetkin or Ruiz to name a few,’ one fan wrote.
Several others suggested Fury may retire.
An TikTok account juxtaposed Fury’s interview before and after the fight against Ngannou, with the Gypsy King’s demenaour noticeably different
‘This fight is never gonna happen Fury’s gonna retire with one of the worst resume in boxing,’ said one. Another added: ‘It won’t happen, I can’t see Fury fighting again.’
A third added: ‘Always dodges big fights, bottler,’ while another noted Fury’s body language had changed dramatically between the two interviews.
Speaking on Sunday, promoter Frank Warren suggested the fight may take place at some point next year.
‘We were going to do it on 23 December. I doubt that will happen now,’ he told BBC 5Live Boxing podcast,
‘Tyson can’t be going into a camp after a tough fight like that. That’s eight weeks away.
‘He needs at least a bit of time to get himself, his body, back into shape. Let it heal. Then get into a camp. It will be on early next year.’
Frank Warren suggested Fury vs Usyk may take place at some point next year
Fury and Usyk had been in talks to fight last year before being locked in talks this March – with the Ukrainian even agreeing to a 70-30 split of the prize purse – though negotiations for the showdown were later abandoned.
In September Fury’s team announced that a deal had finally been struck – with Warren claiming they had only done so to stop the news being leaked early.
‘That wasn’t done deliberately that was only done because we’d lodged the contracts with the IBF and we knew it would leak so we felt it would be better if it was leaked from us rather than elsewhere,’ he told Mail Sport.
‘I think [Fury] is a bit annoyed about that and I understand that but it’s done.’
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