Editor’s note: This article was originally published at MMAJunkie.com.
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Mike Tyson is not letting Tyson Fury’s most recent performance affect the way he looks at his upcoming title fight against Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury, WBC heavyweight champion, is scheduled to fight Usyk, who holds the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles, in an undisputed championship fight on Feb. 17 in Saudi Arabia. It’s easily the biggest and most challenging fight in paper for both fighters’ careers.
Many have begun to question Fury’s chanced given his close fight against a much less experienced Francis Ngannou last month, but Tyson, who helped train Ngannou for Fury, is not letting that questionable performance taint the way he looks at his chances against Usyk.
“Hey, we should (keep in mind the performance against Ngannou), but you have to understand he’s still champion,” Tyson told Fight Hub TV and other media. “He made that night a great night and gave Francis the opportunity. This is just a bad night at the office for him. We all have bad nights, and listen, that was his bad night.”
Fury shocked the world, but not in a good way, last month. He was knocked down and bruised by Ngannou, who’s a former UFC heavyweight champion, but had no previous professional boxing experience. Fury squeaked by with split decision win, but many thought Ngannou did enough to get his hand raised.
Despite Fury’s showing, Tyson still picks him to beat Usyk. He thinks he will overpower the Ukrainian.
“I got to go with Fury,” Tyson said. “I think he’s the best fighter in the world, especially in the heavyweight division. Great fighters lose, great fighters look bad, but that doesn’t stop them from being great fighters.”
