‘They Aren’t Noble At All’

Ngannou believes he was robbed in Riyadh by boxing insiders looking out for the industry’s own interests.

Francis Ngannou is convinced the fix was in for his big Battle of the Baddest boxing match against Tyson Fury in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Ngannou did shockingly well against the lineal heavyweight champion, knocking Fury down in the third and forcing the champ to fight a tentative fight for the majority of the bout. That didn’t stop two of the three judges from awarding the win to Fury.

“Definitely, I was robbed,” Ngannou said on the I AM ATHLETE YouTube show. “But, also I have an understanding that you can’t just walk in and disrupt a system like that. I think it was a very bad look for boxing, for everything—and there was a lot of business involved.”

“So, some judges just sacrificed themselves and take the hit, and save the face. But, they know that that was a dirty job. There wasn’t even a judging, they wasn’t even judging those fights. There was just, like, ‘Okay, we’re not going to lose.’”

“I think even if there was a knockout, they would have found a way to make me lost that fight,” he added. “Because I should have won that fight. The guy gave me [an] elbow! He elbowed me and they didn’t even—yeah. And the referee didn’t even say anything. If that elbow had hurt me? I’m sure they would have count that as a punch and give him a decision, right?”

Ngannou is keeping it all in perspective. Despite the official result, he knows he’s proven to everyone that he’s a legitimate boxing contender. Future fight offers will roll in, and they will be big money. So his career wasn’t seriously impacted by the L.

“I don’t care, I was just about get the big fight, fight the big guy, and go there and prove people wrong,” he said. “And I did, and I think I’m very happy with my performance and what I did. Yes, the result wasn’t there. But, for some guy that is out there building his record and working hard? To get out there and have those kind of outcome? That might have a huge impact in his career.”

“It’s not fair at all. It doesn’t represent boxing very well, because boxing is known as a noble art. But it seems like the people behind it are not noble at all.”

Ngannou’s next move is still shrouded in secrecy, but there’s a good chance we’ll learn what’s next in the coming weeks. According to Ngannou and his manager, they already have a good idea of what’s coming. Will he be as chill if his next boxing match ends in a controversial decision? We have our doubts.