‘I Knew If This Fight Gets To Decision, I’m Not Winning’

Francis Ngannou knew all along.

Ngannou shocked the combat sports world yesterday (Sat., Oct. 28, 2023) at the Battle of the Baddest event when he lost a controversial split decision to Tyson Fury from inside Riyadh Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The fight’s result sent shockwaves throughout the sports world because everyone thought the lineal Heavyweight boxing champion would make light work of Ngannou. (Check out the scorecard)

While disappointed that he didn’t win, Ngannou ultimately knew he would lose a close decision if the fight lasted ten rounds.

If he’s being honest, he would say I won that fight. I won that fight; there isn’t a question about it,” Ngannou told ESPN shortly after the fight. “But even before getting here, I knew. I knew if this fight gets to a decision, I’m not winning. Not because I didn’t do good, but because I’m the new guy in the house…I know there is a structure of business out there, and you need to do a lot to destroy it; that’s why I wasn’t upset. I wasn’t expecting to just win like that in a decision. It is what it is; I did my job, and I know I did everything I could have done. I did my best; maybe next time, I should just do better to convince people.”

Boxing has long been criticized for having horrible decisions, which causes fans to bring up corruption. And, of course, after a razor-close fight, that conversation came up again. Add to the fact that they were fighting in Saudi Arabia, where Fury has fought numerous times; it is easy to see what Ngannou was getting at.

Nevertheless, Ngannou falls to 0-1 as a professional boxer, even though he might be 1-0 in many people’s eyes.

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For complete Ngannou vs. Fury: ‘Battle of the Baddest’ results, coverage and highlights click HERE.