By Samuel Ouma
Boxing fans and sports personalities have expressed displeasure with the judges’ decision to award Brit Tyson Fury a victory against Francis Ngannou.
Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou clashed in a non-title fight held on Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The showpiece attracted a huge crown, including renowned celebrities such as Christiano Ronaldo, Kanye West and Ronaldo Nazario.
Ngannou, making his boxing debut, outwitted his opponent with his incredible skills.
When he floored Fury with a left hook in the third round, the former UFC champion appeared to be on his way to winning the fight.
However, judges ruled in favour of the Brit. While one judge favoured the Cameroonian French-born boxer, 95-94, the remaining two rallied behind the WBC champion with 96-93 and 95-94.
Boxing fans were unhappy to see Fury win the duel despite being overwhelmed by his opponent.
Former Ivory Coast and Chelsea striker Didier Drogba was surprised by the judges’ decisions. He posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, “Who is the winner between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou?”
The disgruntled fans claimed the decision issued by the judges was a disgrace to the world of boxing and tantamount to robbery.
“Tonight is a disgrace to the beautiful game of boxing. Francis Ngannou knocked out Tyson Fury and was clearly the winner by a mile only to get robbed by the Judges in Saudi Arabia. A clear robbery and disgrace to the sport. I feel ashamed being a boxing fan and I know I speak for man,” said Nigerian Media Personality, Kesandu The Great.
The results also caught Gary Linker, English sports broadcaster and former professional footballer, unaware, describing it as a clear robbery.
Chris Eubank Jr., a former British IBO super-middleweight world champion, said, “Watching from ringside I thought Ngannou won the fight. It was close but he was the aggressor, landed heavier shots and scored a knockdown. Fury deserved to lose after having so much trouble against a man who has never boxed before… too much time filming Netflix specials not enough time in the gym I’m guessing. Unlucky Francis.”
The robbery claims also caught the eyes of American mixed martial artist Chase Hooper.
“They finished it off perfectly with a classic boxing robbery,” said Hooper.
“Robbery? Rigged? What’s really embarrassing is that Francis Ngannou who had absolutely no boxing experience beat the hell out of the world heavyweight champion of the world. Francis could easily have been declared winner if not for the split decision and the sport doing whatever to protect it’s integrity,” said Anthony, a Football enthusiast.
Following the controversial win, Fury is set to battle it with Oleksandr Usyk in the next bout on December 23.
