Tyson Fury controversially defeated Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia
Tyson Fury’s win over Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night has caused controversy with 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 heavyweight champion. And the judges’ scorecards have been questioned by 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 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 X (formerly Twitter): “Tyson should say thank you to those 2 judges because I didn’t win this fight.”
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Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn spearheaded the claims that Ngannou, who was a massive underdog in the fight, was “robbed”. He said to Boxing Social: “I’m baffled really. I can’t believe it. Firstly, I feel like Ngannou was robbed. Obviously he scored the knockdown but no-one actually did anything in the fight.
“The fight was a stinker. But Ngannou won the fight. You’re talking about a guy that has never boxed before – and respect to him, because he was better than I thought. But Fury looked like he had never put on a pair of boxing gloves before in his life! He was absolutely awful. Ngannou won the fight by two rounds. Mental!”
He was not the only one unimpressed by the judges’ verdicts. NBA legend LeBron James posted: “Exactly why I don’t watch boxing! C’mon man!” While ex-UFC superstar Nate Diaz wrote: “Tyson Fury lost and the boxing commentary biased af dumba**es they need to learn how to box.”
Multiple-weight boxing champion Canelo Alvarez posted only a shocked face emoji while British middleweight Chris Eubank Jr said: “Watching from ringside I thought Ngannou won the fight. It was close but he was the aggressor, landed heavier shots & scored a knockdown.
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Chris Eubank Jr also weighed in, posting on X: “Fury deserved to lose after having so much trouble against a man who has never boxed before… Too much time filming Netflix specials not enough time in the gym I’m guessing. Unlucky Francis #FuryvsNgannou.”
Fury’s rival Oleksandr Usyk – who the Gypsy King is expected to fight in Saudi Arabia on December 23 – was ringside and said: “I had an impression that he was playing. I’m not thinking about [whether he was playing possum] but I will be training 100 per cent. But listen, it’s boxing. Maybe it was the element of surprise.
“I think it was [a] show. Maybe Tyson Fury didn’t take it serious, ‘Oh it’s an MMA fighter blah blah blah’. I don’t know. See you 23 December.”
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