Tyson Fury’s cousin was praised for winning his first pro boxing match, but some people still pointed out his mistakes.
James Dean Fury faced some criticism even though he won his first professional boxing match. The 20-year-old, who is the cousin of former two-time heavyweight champ Tyson Fury, made his debut against the experienced Dzmitry Atrokhau over the weekend.
Fury signed with the promoter BOXXER and fought on the undercard of the Callum Simpson vs. Troy Williamson 2 event on Saturday night. The main fight saw Simpson win back the British and Commonwealth super-middleweight titles by unanimous decision, getting revenge for the only loss in his career.
Before that, Fury barely edged out Atrokhau in a slow-paced fight against a journeyman who hasn’t won a pro fight in eight years. Fury tried switching stances but had trouble breaking down his older opponent, who is 38 years old. His corner got more and more frustrated as rounds passed and were upset when Fury took four punches in a row in the third round.
It showed Fury can’t be overconfident, as he almost got knocked out by a fighter not many expected much from. “Are your hands broken? Why can’t you land a strong punch? He’s wide open,” Fury Sr. shouted from the corner. “Catch his shots, open him up. I want to see some straight punches down the middle, do you understand? You could beat this guy with one arm—put your punches together and let’s see some quality shots.”
Even though Atrokhau controlled much of the fight, Fury held on to win 60-54 on the judges’ scorecards. It was a great learning experience for the newcomer, who thinks the big moment got to him and affected how he performed overall.
“Me in the gym, at my best—no disrespect to him—but he shouldn’t have touched me,” Fury told DAZN after the fight. “What happened was, I got hyped up and carried away. It is what it is. I made a lot of mistakes, but I’m confident. I believe I can fix them. There were a few things I did well, but 90% of what I did was wrong. At least now I’ve been in there and made those mistakes, so I know what not to do next time.”