"Their approach is awkward" - Tommy Fury's father explains why he thinks MMA fighters cannot successfully cross over to boxing

John Fury doesn't think MMA fighters can successfully cross over to boxing in the long run because both sports are very different from one another.

Fury understands that crossover boxing matches have been trending recently, but he believes it is beyond MMA fighters to master the sweet science well enough to beat professional pugilists.

In a recent interview with BT Sport, John Fury weighed in on the prospect of MMA fighters competing in crossover bouts. According to Fury, an MMA fighter's approach to boxing is "awkward," and that they "revert to type" under pressure by trying to shoot for the legs and take down their opponent, which they can do in an MMA fight.

John Fury said he noticed the aforementioned tendencies within MMA fighters during his son Tommy Fury's sparring sessions. He said that when his son cracks them during sparring, they think and react differently than a boxer because of their lack of technique in the sport.

"The crossover can't actually happen. I don't think it can because it's two different things isn't it? And from what I have seen from sparring MMA guys for this upcoming fight with Tommy as you know, and their approach is awkward. That's what they bring to the table so always looking to take people down, going for the legs and they get carried away because they revert to type under pressure. I have seen it in sparring with Tommy and you know, when Tommy cracks them, they think differently, because they don't know how to ride a shot properly, they don't know how to slip a shot properly," said Fury.

Watch John Fury's appearance on BT Sport below:

How have MMA fighters fared inside the boxing ring?

Tommy Fury is scheduled to take on Bellator's Anthony Taylor in a boxing match that will take place on the undercard of Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley this weekend.

Taylor is also Jake Paul's training partner. Both Jake Paul and Tommy Fury will be competing against mixed martial artists on August 29.

For those that don’t know, Paul-Woodley airs in the UK on BT Sport Box Office. I’ll be doing sit-downs with the lads (see what I did there) + other notable fighters on the card later this week in Cleveland. https://t.co/2GQfKn3Dtu

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) August 24, 2021

In the past, MMA fighters have done decently whenever they crossed over to the boxing ring. Conor McGregor went 10 rounds with the legendary Floyd Mayweather in his boxing debut. More recently, Anderson Silva outclassed Mexican boxer Julio Chavez Jr.