21 July 2023 , 09:41
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Tyson Fury's dad has defended his son's fight against Francis Ngannou by citing Muhammad Ali's exhibition bout against Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki.
Heavyweight champion Fury will fight Ngannou on October 29 after the collapse of his undisputed title clash against Oleksandr Usyk. The fight will go on both men's professional records despite Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn claiming the fight would be an exhibition bout with a "no-knockdown" rule.
In a fight dubbed 'The War of the Worlds', Ali went 15 rounds against Inoki in a bizarre mixed-rules bout that was refereed by legendary judoka Gene LeBell. The Japanese wrestler wanted no part of Ali's punches so he spent most of the fight on his back kicking his legs, something that Ngannou won't be able to do against Fury as their fight is taking place under the traditional Queensberry rules of boxing.
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"People today are making comments about things they don't really understand but if you look into it in depth, Muhammad Ali did the same thing when he was lineal champion," Fury told Mirror Fighting courtesy of Freebets Ireland. "What's he doing wrong? He can't get a fight, there's no mandatories. So what does he do? Sits on his hands to please the public? I don't think he's going to do that. That's why it's called professional boxing. It's about money and business. That's it. Good luck to him. There's no more you can say."
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Ali held a professional record of 52-2 when he fought Inoki, who like Ngannou had never stepped foot in the ring before. Fury's dad admitted that he can understand criticisms of the crossover bout, adding: "Really, I can understand where the true boxing purists are coming from, but it's become all about politics and money today in this game. I'm afraid most of the people are right, it can spoil the job because people don't want to fight.
Muhammad Ali and Antonio Inoki fought in a mixed-rules bout (Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)Fury's dad has insisted that Tyson only took the fight against Ngannou because no top heavyweight contender wanted to fight him. "I think people are just sore because there's a lot of green-eyed monsters about aren't there. Most of it is jealousy because anybody with a brain will know it's a good business move," he added.
"It's a good payday. I think the people make comments are people who are irrelevant really. I know fans are what we want, but what can he do? What can he do? No one wants to fight the kid. So this opportunity presented itself and he's took it with both hands, and why not?"