“A lion fighting a a pack of hyenas” - Francis Ngannou fumes at referee after assessing Tyson Fury ‘elbow video’ multiple times
Francis Ngannou has called out the referee from his fight against Tyson Fury, Michael Griffin, for not calling out an elbow strike.
During 'The Battle of the Baddest' between Ngannou and Fury, the Brit landed an elbow strike that was very noticeable. 'The Predator', who is a former UFC fighter, was unfazed by the shot, but the referee did not call out the illegal strike and let the fight carry on.
Ngannou has subsequently called out referee Griffin for not deducting a point off Fury, writing on X:
"I watched the elbow video tens of times and I don't understand why the referee didn't take a point from him."
He added:
"Last Saturday I was a lion fighting a pack of hyenas - Tyson Fury, the referee for allowing an illegal elbow, and the judges for their score cards."
Francis Ngannou believes he was fighting three entities inside the ring, his opponent, the referee, and the ringside judges.
Despite knocking Tyson Fury down in the fight, Ngannou lost via split decision in what some have even called the 'biggest robbery' in combat sports, a claim firmly denied by the likes of Teddy Atlas and Daniel Cormier.
Tyson Fury calls Francis Ngannou his toughest opponent in years
Tyson Fury canceled the post-fight press conference following his controversial win over Francis Ngannou, something he has not done before.
However, a few hours after the fight, he sat down for an exclusive interview with Boxing King Media and spoke about the fight. He gave his props to the former UFC heavyweight champion but insisted that he won the fight:
"He gave me a better fight than all the boxers did in the last ten years. I think that was my toughest fight I've had for years. Maybe he won the 10-8 round and maybe he won one other round. But other than that, I was just boxing when he couldn't really close the distance down on me so. There is no excuses, you're in there on the night, I done the best I could."
Take a look at a clip from the interview:
The difference in the appearance of the two fighters post-fight was drastically different. Francis Ngannou did not have a scratch on him, while Tyson Fury had a black eye and a cut on his forehead.