Tyson Fury believes that Conor McGregor lost to Dustin Poirier partly because he had been out of action for too long.
McGregor had fought competitively for just 40 seconds, when he knocked out Donald Cerrone. That proved insufficient when he met Poirier and McGregor suggested that inactivity had been his downfall.
Fury, who last fought a year ago when he beat Deontay Wilder to claim his WBC title in Las Vegas, told Gareth A Davies that, “inactivity kills the cat.”
On whether he should have blamed his lack of action, Fury said: “He did, and he’s bang-on right.
“Conor McGregor fought in 2016, then he had two years out and then he fought Khabib.
“Then he had another two years out, and then he fought Cerrone.
“Then he had another year out, and then he fought this guy, Poirier.
“So inactivity kills the cat, no doubt about it.
“When one man’s been active – fighting, sparring and in camps – and one man’s been on the couch, it’s no good.”
Fury explained the problems associated with a lack of action.
He said: “You lose your timing, you lose your distance, you lose it all.
“You lose it all, it’s all gotta be gained back within camps and within fighting.
“If you had three fights on the bounce after you’d never been in the ring for three years, in the third one you’d be ten times better than the first.
“I’ve always known it. Because I’m a boxing historian I’ve always known about inactivity.
“Gerry Cooney when he fought Larry Holmes — he was out of the ring for 18 months.
“His timing wasn’t there, he just wasn’t the same fighter as he should’ve been.
“If one man’s not active and one man’s been in the ring, it’s an uphill battle.
“Recently we saw Juan Pablo Hernandez, the former IBF cruiserweight champion, he came back after a long lay-off and fought journeyman Kevin Johnson and got knocked out.”
Fury is expected to sign up to a two fight-deal with Anthony Joshua, which should see him back in the ring at least twice in 2021.