Francis Ngannou claims rude comment from Tyson Fury prompted dance after third round knockdown
Francis Ngannou has revealed why he taunted Tyson Fury after knocking him down during their fight in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.
The former UFC heavyweight champion almost sprung a monumental upset when he dropped Fury with a left hook in the third round of his boxing debut.
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Ngannou is usually mild-mannered and respectful to his opponents, but after flooring ‘The Gypsy King’ he got in his face, started dancing and forced the referee to intervene.
The 37-year-old says his reaction to the knockdown was due to a disrespectful comment Fury made moments before their fight got underway.
“When we touched gloves, he’s, like, ‘Let me take you to school.’ I’m like, ‘You motherf*****, you are not taking me to school,’ Ngannou told .
“That’s why when I knocked him down, I was dancing, like, ‘You’re a bad professor, motherf*****. You’re a bad professor. How is that school going? Who is taking who to school?’”
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Ngannou thought he did enough to beat Fury, but was not surprised when two of the three ringside judges scored the fight against him.
He added: “If he's being honest, he would say I won that fight.
“I won that fight; there's not a question about it. But even before getting here, I knew I'm not winning a decision because I'm a new guy in the house.
“I know they need - there's a structural business out there - and you need to do a lot to destroy that. It is what it is.”
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Fury, who is currently sporting a nasty black eye, has played down Ngannou’s performance and talk of a robbery by suggesting the MMA star only won two rounds during their fight.
The 35-year-old has no interest in rematching Ngannou and is pressing ahead with a planned four-belt undisputed fight with WBO, WBA and IBF heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury vs Usyk was supposed to take place on December 23, but after the Englishman’s tough night at the office against Ngannou, it appears that the fight will be pushed back until 2024.
Even if a rematch with Fury is unavailable, Ngannou will have plenty of lucrative options to stay in boxing after impressing many during his debut.
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