Too much Netflix! Out-of-sorts Tyson Fury distracted himself with his tell-all documentary and his new book to lead to his struggles back in the ring, says Charlotte Daly on Mail Sport’s new boxing podcast THE HOOK

• Tyson Fury survived an almighty scare in his fight with Francis Ngannou
• Mail Sport’s Charlotte Daly feels he had too many distractions before the fight
• Listen to Mail Sport’s new boxing podcast THE HOOK – with exclusive interviews

Mail Sport’s Charlotte Daly believes Tyson Fury’s distractions away from the ring caused him to massively underperform in his crossover clash with Francis Ngannou on Saturday night.

Fury entered the contest as the heavy favourite as he faced a man who had never boxed professionally before, but he was knocked down in the third round by the former UFC heavyweight champion, and was fortunate to win a razor-thin split decision, in the eyes of many fans.

Ngannou has received plenty of credit in the aftermath of his display against the WBC heavyweight king, but fans and pundits have also been wondering why Fury looked so far below his best throughout the fight.

Daly feels Fury’s packed schedule away from the ring that has included filming a Netflix documentary with his family, meeting fans up and down the country and promoting his new book caused him to take his eye off the ball, and he almost paid the ultimate price.  

‘For Fury, unfortunately, he looked a little bit physically and mentally drained going into the ring,’ Daly said on Mail Sport’s new boxing podcast, The Hook.

Tyson Fury has been filming a Netflix documentary with his wife Paris (left) and the rest of his family in recent months

The documentary has given a behind-the-scenes look at everyday life for the Fury family

Tyson Fury was knocked down by Francis Ngannou in their fight, and only just beat the former UFC heavyweight champion on Saturday night

‘I think the fact that his life kind of hasn’t been his own for the last couple of months, like I have no doubt he took Francis seriously, I don’t think he underestimated him at any point. 

‘But when you’re obliged to fulfil all these commitments like Netflix documentaries and like these shows where he’s going to talk to his fans and audiences, his book, that’s mentally draining. 

‘At the end of the day, boxing is his job and these are secondary, that I think if you’re gearing up towards a fight something’s got to give, and unfortunately it felt like the thing that gave this time was the fight rather than those other obligations that he had.’

While Daly felt Fury showed Ngannou the respect he deserved, her co-host Alex McCarthy was less convinced, and claimed complacency crept in.

Mail Sport’s Charlotte Daly believes distractions like the Netflix documentary led to Fury underperforming against Ngannou

Daly also thinks Fury travelling up and down the country to meet fans and promote his book did not help his preparations for Ngannou

He pointed to the fact that Fury’s undisputed clash with Oleksandr Usyk was pencilled in for just eight weeks after the Ngannou fight as proof that Fury was looking ahead rather than focusing on the task in hand.

‘I felt that he thought he could roll in this fight as almost part of his training camp for Usyk,’ he said.

‘I thought the turnaround from a late October to December 23rd for an undisputed world title fight was fantasy. None of us believed that was going to happen.

‘Especially when you look at the likes of Joshua and Tyson Fury, they’ve been fighting once a year, if that, for the past three or four years. No way did I believe that was going to be happening within a few months.

‘But I think if Fury felt that he won convincingly like he assumed that he would, and, to be fair to him, many people did as well, then he would just skate right on through and carry on with his training camp to Usyk.

‘So, he was probably only in the early stages of what he would have been doing heading into Francis Ngannou. He certainly didn’t look like he was razor sharp or deep into a camp.

Alex McCarthy feels Fury took his eye off the ball and was already looking ahead to fighting Oleksandr Usyk

‘Whether that was because he was into the early embers of a training camp, or as you said it was the conditions on the night, that will have to be debated and we probably won’t know unless Fury decides to share it with us.’

Fury was heavily marked up following the fight, and sported a big bruise around one of his eyes.

As a result, his fight with Usyk is now likely to be pushed back, with February appearing to be the new targeted date.

Meanwhile, Ngannou has options aplenty after shocking the world, with promoter Eddie Hearn calling for a fight with Anthony Joshua and claiming the Brit would win inside three rounds.

Source: Read Full Article