Fury has a rocky ride in Riyadh
Tyson Fury's win over Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night has caused controversy, with Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn leading the claims that the former UFC champion was “robbed”.
WBC heavyweight champion Fury won via split decision despite being knocked down in round three.
Ngannou surprised the Brit, 35, on his professional boxing debut and his plan to overpower Fury worked well. The Gypsy King was notably taken back by the Cameroonian-Frenchman's punch power and dropped to the canvas from a left hook after also being cut on the forehead in round two.
Fury jabbed back at Ngannou, though it was he who wore more damage at the end of the fight. Yet the 37-year-old was denied one of the biggest shocks in boxing history against the unbeaten WBC king. And the judges' scorecards have been questioned by spectators and many of those in the sport.
Ed Garner scored the fight 95-94 for Ngannou but Alan Krebs had it 95-94 the other way. Juan Carlos Pelayo, rather surprisingly, had it 96-93 to Fury who improves his record to 34-0-1 though his green and gold belt was not on the line in the event dubbed the 'Battle of the Baddest'.
MMA expert Ngannou, who set the record for the world’s hardest punch with Athlete Fit, later posted on Twitter: “Tyson should say thank you to those two judges because I didn't win this fight.”
The Gypsy King has already accepted full responsibility for his underpar performance, “There's no 'Who's to blame?' Blame me. Don't blame the trainer, don't blame the manager, don't blame the cutman. Blame me, if you're gonna blame anybody. I got paid and we go on to the undisputed fight#.”
Reactions
Lennox Lewis: Just by looking at those love handles, I thought to myself, no way Fury had a full camp… I’m thinking he maybe got in 4-6 weeks… This definitely wasn’t the same Fury who beat Wilder.
Eddie Hearn: Ngannou won by 2 rounds. I think Fury's punch resistance might have gone!
Evan Korn: For MMA fans who do not watch a ton of boxing, watch Lewis-Holyfield 1, Whitaker-Chavez or Joel Casamayor-Jose Santa Cruz. Those, my friends, were robberies. A close fight isn't a robbery… there is a difference.
Steve Bunce: Still in hotel lobbies in Saudi Arabia – it turns out I was the only person who thought Fury would win… everybody knew that Big Francis would drop him, bash him and then get jobbed. They all knew Fury had not trained. I feel like a fool!!!
Tim Rickson: I don't believe it was a robbery but it was very close and there's arguments for and against who won. For Tyson, it's a massive dent to his popularity. His stock is down. He clearly didn't take this fight seriously and paid the cost. All he can do now is get back in the gym, train properly for the undisputed fight with Usyk and win that to keep his legacy intact. Boxing is very up and down, if he comes back strong to win that fight then all will be forgiven and his stock will be sky high once again.
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