Tyson Fury speaks out on ‘ring rust’ after controversial Francis Ngannou win

Fury's injuries from the Ngannou fight were evident to see

Tyson Fury’s victory over Francis Ngannou has left a sour taste in the mouth of the former UFC star’s fans after they believe that they spotted an error on the scorecards.

Fury defeat Ngannou via split decision but didn’t have it all his own way after being knocked down by the former UFC star in the third round with a sweet left hook shot.

The Gypsy King struggled to find his rhythm at times and didn’t look like his usual self against a fighter who was competing in a professional boxing bout for the first time in his career. 

Before the fight there were claims that the WBC heavyweight champion hadn't been training enough in preparation for the bout, despite missing the birth of his son, Prince Rico in September, however the 33-year-old said that he had put in the work behind the scenes to achieve the victory.

"You can’t take anything away from Francis Ngannou," Fury told Boxing King Media.

"He was a good fighter, he gave me a very good fight and that was it. I trained very well, I prepared very good, and I didn’t have any excuses or anything.

"It’s boxing, some days you have good days, some days you don’t. You crack on and you continue.

"Usually when the media say it’s a mismatch and it’s not worth watching and all that, usually you’re in for a tough night.

"And if I didn’t train as hard as I did I probably wouldn’t have got through that fight."

There was controversy over the judges' scorecards after many fans believe that those officiating the fight forgot to deduct Fury a point for an illegal elbow punch that landed on Ngannou's head.

Assessing the fight even further, Fury believed that he suffered from "ring rust".

"I’ve been out of the ring nearly a year again, a little bit of ring rust. It was what it was.

"It was far from one of my best performances, it wasn’t a vintage Tyson Fury but listen, you do what you’ve got to do in there and get through and on to the next one.

"It’s boxing, you can’t be the best version of yourself every time, but it’s about keep going and on to the next one, which is Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed championship."

Related links:

• Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou official judges’ scorecards released
• Video emerges of Oleksandr Usyk’s live reaction to Francis Ngannou knocking down Tyson Fury
• Francis Ngannou completely blanks Eminem at event before Tyson Fury fight