Tyson Fury was knocked down and taken the distance by Francis Ngannou in the latter’s first outing as a professional boxer.
The WBC World Champion would go on to scrape a split decision win, but Ngannou and his team remain adamant that they should have been given the nod.
In the aftermath, the former UFC star has called the officials ‘a pack of hyenas’ and accused Fury of blatantly elbowing him in the head. Footage does indeed show the moment of connection, with Ngannou taking it impressively in his stride.
Unlike the superman punch, this was f**king illegal 🛑#furyngannou#battleofthebaddestpic.twitter.com/31Hf3k3CUW
— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) October 30, 2023
Speaking on Morning Kombat, Dewey Cooper – the man credited with the Ngannou game-plan that seemed to through Fury off his game – said that the elbow being properly addressed by the referee could have won them the fight.
Asked if he thought it was intentional, he said yes.
“100%. That shows the frustration. When things are going as easy or as cool as you thought, these type of things happen. It was a mark of frustration.
I’m disappointed the referee didn’t even say anything or penalise him for it, because that really made a difference. It would’ve made a difference in the fight … You penalise him for the elbow, we win that round too.”
Fury has called the Ngannou bout his toughest in a decade and admitted that it was not a vintage performance from his end.
As the Cameroon-born 37-year-old now explores others options on the heavyweight boxing scene, including both Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder, Fury will take a short break before entering into camp to face his fellow champion, Oleksandr Usyk, in an undisputed bout.