Former UFC light heavyweight world champion Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson believes Francis Ngannou was “robbed” in his debut boxing match with Tyson Fury.
Emanating from Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Ngannou stepped inside the squared circle nearly two years removed from his last appearance in combat sports when he was still the UFC heavyweight champ. Strapping on the eight-ounce gloves against one of the greatest boxers on the planet, many had already counted out Ngannou, suggesting that his fight with Fury was nothing more than a payday.
That was until Francis Ngannou sent Tyson Fury crashing to the canvas in the third round with a counter-left.
Some things you have to see in order to believe the #Fury knockdown. pic.twitter.com/dmcGujJqaD
— Daps Sports (@SportsDap) October 28, 2023
Through 10 rounds of action, ‘The Predator’ more than held his own and, in the eyes of many, won the fight. However, two of the three judges didn’t see things that way, awarding Fury the win via split decision.
“I was surprised that Tyson made it past the fourth round,” ‘Rampage’ Jackson said during an interview with iFL TV. Ngannou is one of the baddest men on the planet. One of the hardest punchers on the planet right now and I know one of his coaches, Dewey Cooper, and I’ve been watching Francis train on social media. I talked to Dewey and I saw what Mike Tyson was saying about him. Training with Mike Tyson.
“[Ngannou] never had a boxing match before, but I knew it. I know that he has knockout power and I knew that he prepared for this fight. He took it 100 percent seriously. It wasn’t just a money grab for him.”
‘Rampage’ Says Tyson Fury Owes Usyk a Big Thank You Following Francis Ngannou Victory
Before stepping inside the ring with Francis Ngannou, ‘The Gypsy King’ had reportedly signed on the dotted line for a long-awaited title unification bout with current WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
‘Rampage’ suggested that the only reason Tyson Fury left Saudi Arabia with a win was because they had already invested in putting together his fight with Usyk.
“I think Tyson Fury should write Oleksandr Usyk a love letter, thanking him for signing the contract before his fight with Francis because he got the W,” Jackson said.
Usyk’s Shock Reaction To Fury’s Knockdownpic.twitter.com/2jC8DMzxZt
— Instablog9ja (@instablog9ja) October 29, 2023
Asked flat out if he believes that Francis Ngannou was robbed of a win in his fight with Fury, ‘Rampage’ said:
“I’m gonna say right here in my own words, that I feel, in my opinion, I feel like Francis Ngannou should have gotten the win because it was a close fight if you look at points and stuff like that. I don’t know how the judges score. I’m just an MMA guy. I don’t know a whole lot about boxing, but I know a lot about fighting. If you look at the people’s faces, Tyson Fury’s face looked like he had a fat girl sitting on him for a couple rounds. Big fat one. Like 300-400 pounds.
“You’ve all seen those videos of big fan women that come and jump on your face. Some of ya’ll fans watching this right now know what I’m talking about because I know some of ya’ll are into that weird sh*t. That’s what Tyson Fury’s face looked like.
“[Fury] got cut. He got dropped. He got out-powered. Francis threw more power shots. He hit him to the body a lot and Tyson Fury looked like a fish out of water. He underestimated Francis and Francis showed class.”
Following the contest, judges Alan Krebs and Ed Garner had it scored the same 95-94, though Krebs had it for Fury while Garner’s score favored Fury. Judge Juan Carlos Pelayo’s scorecard had the biggest margin, scoring the bout 96-93 in favor of Tyson Fury.
“I’d say Francis won by two rounds, but I knew if it went to the judges, there would be a high percentage that they would give it to Fury,” Jackson said.
Watch the full interview below:
