"He didn't really get me" - A bruised Tyson Fury tries to shrug off knockdown by accusing Francis Ngannou of illegal shot
When Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou was first announced, the fight world expected 'The Gypsy King' to completely outclass the former UFC heavyweight champion.
However, when they locked horns in Riyadh, Fury was presented with one of the toughest fights of his career. The highlight of the night was 'The Predator' flooring the WBC world heavyweight champion in the third round with a crushing left hook.
Despite hitting the canvas and not being able to return the favor, Tyson Fury tried to play off the knockdown as an illegal blow during an interview with Boxing King Media. He said:
"He punches hard, but it was [a] bit like a hook on the back of the head, the knockdown in [the] round, whatever it was, three? But apart from that, I didn't get [hit] with really much else."
Catch Tyson Fury's comments below (2:26):
Despite his claims of being relatively unscathed other than the knockdown, numerous post-fight pictures of 'The Gypsy King' show clear signs of being tagged with multiple hard shots.
Interestingly, Fury, in fact, landed an illegal blow on his opponent during the fight, albeit by accident. During one exchange, 'The Gypsy King' landed an unintentional elbow on the MMA superstar, which seemed to have had a visible impact on Ngannou.
Many in the fight world believe the MMA superstar was robbed of a victory in Riyadh. In light of the controversial ending, we might yet see a rematch between the heavyweight titans.
However, in the near future, Fury is slated to face Oleksandr Usyk for an undisputed heavyweight clash later in December or next year.
Dmitry Bivol pegs Oleksandr Usyk as "favorite" over Tyson Fury
It is safe to say that Tyson Fury let down the boxing world with his lackluster performance against Francis Ngannou, and it seems Dmitry Bivol is among those who were baffled by 'The Gypsy King's' poor showing.
During an interview with Fight Hub TV, the WBA light-heavyweight champion opined that this version of Fury would be easy work for Oleksandr Usyk when the duo lock horns in their undisputed clash. He said:
"Tyson was so bad today, to be honest... [Ngannou has] got a good punch [Tyson] didn't see it [coming]. I wish him to have a good training camp before Usyk because if we see Tyson like this against Usyk, we all know what will [happen]... Usky [is] the favorite now. I [see] him as the big favorite for the fight."
Catch Dmitry Bivol's comments below (0:29):