Fury vs Ngannou: that’s what it is

British heavyweight boxer Tyson Fury has walked away from the controversial decision that resulted in his victory over former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. Tyson Fury was sent crashing to the canvas in front of the packed Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia but survived to secure victory. The Fury vs Ngannou fight headlined the pay-per-view event in Saudi Arabia.

Speaking in a post-match interview, the WBC and The Ring heavyweight champion acknowledged that Ngannou was a tough fighter. He claimed the Cameroon-born former UFC champion gave more than was expected and was one of his toughest opponents in the last 10 years. A claim which is a big plus for the Cameroonian given Fury faced off with Wladimir Klitschko, Deontay Wilder, Derek Chisora and Dilian Whyte among other established names in the sport.

“That definitely wasn’t in the script,” he said of the controversial split decision. “He’s a hell of a fighter and a hell of a lot better boxer than we thought he would be. He’s an awkward man and a good puncher and I respect him a lot.

“He was very awkward, he wasn’t coming forward and was waiting for me to throw. He’s given me one of my toughest fights of the last ten years.”

Then he said of the knockdown and the result, “I was caught behind the head for the knockdown. I got back up and got back to my boxing.”

“I don’t know how close it was, but I got the win and that’s how it was. You can see it here, ring rust. Fair play to Francis, he cut my head here. It was a good fight.”

The Fury vs Ngannou fight marked the latter’s first professional boxing fight after he decided to do a crossover. Francis Ngannou expressed his satisfaction with the results. He also brushed aside his limited training time and a pre-fight injury as the cause of his defeat.