{"id":108349,"date":"2025-08-31T07:51:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-31T07:51:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/108349\/"},"modified":"2025-08-31T07:51:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-31T07:51:09","slug":"tony-ferguson-admits-he-was-super-nervous-for-misfits-boxing-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/108349\/","title":{"rendered":"Tony Ferguson admits he was \u2018super nervous\u2019 for Misfits boxing debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tony Ferguson snapped his eight fight losing streak on Saturday night at Misfits Boxing X Series 22, earning a TKO win over Nathaniel \u201cSalt Papi\u201d Bustamante.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a win few people saw coming. The 41-year-old Ferguson was a +340 dog to -500 favorite \u201cSalt Papi,\u201d and many expected<\/a> \u201cEl Cucuy\u201d to end up on the wrong end of a highlight reel for his boxing debut. Instead, Ferguson showed that dog and kept the pressure on Bustamante despite being slower and eating some sharp combos from the 31-year-old.<\/p>\n

By the third round, \u201cSalt Papi\u201d was fading and Ferguson was just getting started. He backed his opponent into the ropes and just started unloading punches, forcing the referee to step in and wave the fight off (watch the highlights here).<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody that bet against me, I guess they\u2019re kicking their ass right now,\u201d Ferguson said during a media scrum after the win (video via Fred Talks Fighting).<\/a> \u201cBeing real, being an underdog, coming through here, being super nervous at the beginning of camp, and then just trusting the process with my coaches and my cornermen. We came out of here, we did what we wanted to do. And it was a good reminder of who I am, and I\u2019m a fighter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ferguson fell to his knees in the ring and was overwhelmed with emotion after the fight ended, but don\u2019t say he cried.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot crying. It was chill, man. I had no tears,\u201d Ferguson insisted. \u201cJust nothing but joy and just enjoying the moment for a split second. Because you\u2019re talking about years, man. Years of just not being happy. Not because of the losses. Of just not being happy. This is something I\u2019ve always wanted to do. I always wanted to throw on some shoes and throw on some boxing gloves and go and sling some leather. And tonight was that perfect example to be able to do that, get rid of the nerves, and get that first victory out of the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI need one victory to get me back into where I needed to be, which is killer mode,\u201d he said later. \u201cAnd I bring that confidence back to be able to understand who the f\u2014k I am. Because for a long time, when the pandemic hit, I don\u2019t know what the f\u2014k happened. Everything broke outside of there and I had to bring back sports, and it took a lot of pressure. I have no pressure on me now.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was a lot of talk that the referee had stopped the fight prematurely, not just from fans but from Bustamante\u2019s corner and Misfits officials A better reffed fight probably should have seen \u201cSalt Papi\u201d get a standing eight count, but Ferguson said the result would have been the same in the end.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had two more rounds to put them away, so it would have come either way,\u201d he said. \u201cAs soon as I started putting more pressure on him, he was starting to make more mistakes and not punching back. And I knew that I was gonna put more pressure on him. We were gonna get that victory either way.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for what\u2019s next, Ferguson was tight-lipped. He said Dillon Danis was closer to a friend than an opponent, and suggested he had a ways to go before being a potential opponent for Misfits founder KSI. \u201cEl Cucuy\u201d is now the Misfits interim middleweight champion, so perhaps he\u2019ll fight \u201cAnEson Gib\u201d aka Ali Loui Al-Fakhri to unify the title.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t even know who Gib is,\u201d Ferguson admitted. \u201cBut I\u2019m gonna be real. When it goes into it, I\u2019m here to stay. I like Misfits Boxing. I\u2019m a potential UFC hall of famer, not potentially, a UFC hall of famer when it goes into it. I like collecting accolades, and this is gonna look cool on my part, so I\u2019m excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

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