WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury 34-0-1 (24) is guilty of an intentional foul against Francis Ngannou 0-1, according to the former UFC heavyweight champion’s trainer Dewey Cooper.
Boxing debutant Ngannou took Fury right to the limit in their 10-round non-title bout in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night, dropping the 35-year-old Brit in the third round before eventually losing a close split decision by scores of 95-94, 94-95 and 93-96.
During the sixth round Fury threw a roundhouse right hand that missed, but his elbow caught Ngannou cleanly on the chin.
Asked by Luke Thomas on Morning Kombat if the blow was intentional, Cooper said he had no doubt.
“One hundred percent,” Cooper said. “That shows the frustration. When things aren’t going as easy or as cool as you thought, these type of things happen. It was a mark of frustration.
“I’m disappointed the referee didn’t even say anything or penalise him for it because that really made a difference in the fight.
“I still had Francis winning two, three, four, eight, 10. Seven was close. You penalise him with the elbow, we win that round too. I had him winning five to six rounds and with the knockdown we got it. So, it should’ve been 96-94 or 95-94 for us.”
The fight was viewed as a mismatch going in, but the unexpectedness of the result has seen French-Cameroonian Ngannou, 37, field offers from many top heavyweights looking to make a name for themselves.
But given the choice Ngannou wants his revenge on Fury, who he left cut and bruised by the end of the bout.
“The rematch is what I want next the most,” Ngannou told TMZ. “As for right now I feel like there is a lot of options for me, but I want to choose wisely and I would go for the rematch first.
“My best scenario in boxing is to wait for Fury. If [unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr] Usyk can step out and let me fight Fury, I’ll fight Fury, then I’ll let them do whatever they do.
“I’ll go back, maybe do some MMA fight and come back with some people in boxing. I’m planning to fight potentially twice next year, [starting] maybe February or March.”
Asked if he would consider appealing the result, Ngannou said it would be pointless.
“Who am I gonna appeal to? I have no chance. I think that’s just another way of humiliation,” he said.
If the Fury rematch doesn’t happen next, Cooper has no problem putting his charge in with any heavyweight in the world.
“Any of ’em ’cause we’re gonna devise a plan and be ready, but I definitely love an Anthony Joshua fight,” Cooper said.
“I definitely love that fight and you know, Deontay Wilder that’s a good fight also, but honestly, real champions see no faces.”
