Tyson Fury’s manager Spencer Brown has revealed why the Gypsy King struggled against Francis Ngannou in November.
The WBC heavyweight champion put in an uncharacteristically poor display against colossal underdog Ngannou in Saudi Arabia last year but edged out a narrow split decision victory over the Cameroonian, sparking controversy among boxing fans.
Ngannou, whose stock rose dramatically after sharing the canvas with Fury, is now gearing up to face former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in Riyadh on Friday, in an eagerly-anticipated showdown dubbed ‘Knockout Chaos’.
Meanwhile, Fury is in camp preparing for his upcoming unification bout in May with Oleksandr Usyk, who currently holds the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight world titles.
Ahead of Friday’s clash between AJ and Ngannou, Brown has revealed why Fury put in such a lacklustre and uninspiring performance against the former UFC star in November.
Tyson Fury ‘s manager has revealed why the Gypsy King struggled against Francis Ngannou
Spencer Brown, left, alongside Fury and promoter Frank Warren, right, was speaking ahead of Anthony Joshua’s eagerly-anticipated fight with Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on Friday night
Brown claimed that Fury had not slept for three days ahead of fighting the former UFC star
‘I’ll tell you the reason now,’ Brown told Boxing King Media. ‘He never slept for three days on the spin. That was the reason for the bad performance. You can take that how you want but I was there and saw it all. He couldn’t sleep.
‘We’ve proved that now because we’ve gone through a new camp and it’s wonderful. Marvellous, you can sleep as much as you want.
‘Don’t go to sleep for three day, see how you feel. I’m sure you’ve done that in your party days.’
Brown is tipping AJ to get the business done against Ngannou on Friday, labelling the Brit a ‘monster’, but expects him to have a few difficult moments against the world’s hardest puncher.
‘I think Joshua wins on points,’ he said. ‘That’s my prediction. He has a couple (of scary moments) maybe but do we know a lot more about Ngannou now? Yes, we do. He doesn’t fall for faints but Anthony Joshua don’t faint, does he?
Brown admitted Joshua is a ‘monster’ and tipped him to prevail in Friday’s Riyadh showpiece
However, he expects AJ to have a few difficult moments against the world’s hardest puncher
‘He’s a straight-forward, come forward fighter. He wants to knock you out. I’ll tell you what he is: he’s a monster.’
On Tuesday, the Gypsy King stole Ngannou’s spotlight as he gatecrashed a reception held by Chairman of General Authority for Entertainment Turki Alakshikh in Riyadh.
Mail Sport reported on Wednesday that Fury had accused Ngannou of calling him a ‘coward’, which the latter denied.
Ngannou later warned Fury: ‘If we ever fight in the street or anywhere else outside the boxing ring, you will be in serious trouble’.