Tyson Fury on Francis Ngannou after controversial result: 'He's a lot better than I thought'

29/10/2023 16:00

Tyson Fury promised to leave no stone unturned in his preparation to face Francis Ngannou, but even he couldn't have imagined what nearly unfolded on Saturday night.

The undefeated heavyweight boxing king was supposed to steamroll the less experienced MMA fighter, who seemingly only had a puncher's chance thanks to the immense power Ngannou generates with his punches. And while Ngannou displayed that strength with a stunning third-round knockdown, he also managed to push Fury to the brink of defeat.

In the end, two judges gave Fury the nod to win by split decision, and he had nothing but praise for Ngannou afterward.

"That definitely wasn't in the script," Fury said post-fight. "Francis is a hell of a fighter. Strong, big puncher, and a lot better boxer than we all thought he would ever be. Listen, he's a very awkward man and he's a good puncher, and I respect him a lot. Before the fight and afterward."

"He was very awkward. He wasn't coming forward. He was standing back waiting for me to land my punches and then try to counter. He's a good fighter. He's given me probably one of my toughest fights in the last 10 years."

On paper, Fury was supposed to toy with Ngannou to make the $79.99 price for the pay-per-view justified to its audience, but there was no way the Cameroon native was supposed to keep it that close.

The knockdown in the third round was undoubtedly the biggest moment in the fight, although Fury says he never felt like he was in any serious danger.

"It's part of boxing," Fury said. "I got caught behind the head again. I wasn't hurt or nothing, I was all right. I got up and it was what it was. I got back to my boxing. Just a flash knockdown behind the head. I think it was a glancing blow at the back of the head and it was what it was. It was alright."

Fury spoke often leading up to the fight about staying more active than his recent schedule allowed, which he admits may have played at least some part in his uneven performance. But he still refused to negate Ngannou's performance, especially doing that in his professional boxing debut.

"I've been out of the ring a lot time again, 11 months in between my last fights," Fury said. "You can see it in here. Ring rust and everything. No excuses. Francis is a good fighter and he caught me with some good punches. Fair play to him. He cut me across the eye there. I don't know what that was, a left hook or head butt or something, I'm not sure. But it was a rough fight. Perfect.

"He's a good fighter, Francis. He hit me with some good punches and he was a lot better than we thought he'd be. Good fighter. No excuses, he's a good boxer. He's a lot better than I thought he'd be and he gave me a good fight. Fair play to him. God bless him."

As far as the decision goes, Fury obviously wasn't going to argue with the scorecards, but he knows he escaped a very tough fight after a game showing from Ngannou.

"I don't know how close it was, but I got the win and that's what it is," Fury said.

Even before the bout happened on Saturday, Fury already inked a deal for his next fight against Oleksandr Usyk, who was in attendance for the event in Saudi Arabia. Fury quickly shifted his attention towards Usyk and engaged in a faceoff in the ring, but even he admitted there's a good chance he will see Ngannou again one day in the future.

"I would like to do it again down the line," Fury said. "I'm sure Francis would like to do it as well. We've got this man [Oleksandr Usyk] to deal with next and that's what's next for us.

"He's a smaller man than Francis. I always said Francis was a much more dangerous fight than Oleksandr and that's it."