John Fury knows his son could have done more to beat KSI.
Fury was in the corner of Tommy Fury on Saturday in Manchester, England, as Tommy went six rounds with KSI in the main event of Misfits Boxing: The Prime Card. The influencer boxing match was light on action and though Tommy escaped with a unanimous decision, few were impressed by either man’s performance.
KSI decried the decision as a robbery in the aftermath of the fight and while John didn’t go that far with his criticism of the bout, he admitted that the scorecards could have gone either way.
“To be honest with you, styles make fights and it wasn’t a good watch,” Fury told Boxing Social. “I’m used to seeing two men stand up and box properly. But when another man’s from another background completely to what we’re doing, it’s hard to replicate in sparring, but we knew what he was going to do and I didn’t expect the referee to let him get away with as much holding. He was holding him constantly and he couldn’t get his arms out, he was smothering his work, it was horrible to watch.
“Listen, like I said to mark the end of it: If [KSI] had gotten the decision, there’d have been no qualms from me. They both had a go and that’s what it is, but don’t forget they’re only novices aren’t they. Look at the pressure on Tommy every time he goes in the ring, it’s nothing but pressure because he has to do the business, doesn’t he? He just seems to carry the weight of the world on his back but it’s only experience, he’ll get better. You can’t train for people like [KSI]. At the end of the day, if they don’t want to fight, they don’t want to fight, do they?”
Saturday’s main event was a dreary affair, with KSI and Tommy Fury mostly clinching to little effect and no interference from referee Mark Calo-oy. Despite Fury receiving a point deduction early in the fight for illegal punches to the back of the head, he still came out on top via majority decision with scores of 57-56, 57-56, and 57-57.
Fury improved to 10-0 as a pro with the win and now holds victories over arguably the two biggest names in the influencer boxing sphere, KSI and Jake Paul. Afterwards, Fury suggested that he’s likely to move on from more influencer boxing matchups, while leaving the door open for a rematch with Jake or a fight with his brother Logan Paul.