Ngannou Believes He Beat Fury, But Didn’t Expect to Win Decision in Boxing Debut

Francis Ngannou is well aware of how these things work.

While the former UFC heavyweight champion did everything in his power to outduel Tyson Fury in his professional boxing debut on Saturday in Saudia Arabia, he knew that if the fight went the distance, the scorecards weren’t likely going to be in his favor. That proved to be the case, as Fury emerged with a hard-fought split decision their non-title bout.

However, Ngannou says Fury knows who really won that fight.

“If he was being honest, he would say I won that fight,” Ngannou said in a post-fight interview with ESPN. “I won that fight. There’s no question about it.

“Even before getting here, I knew if this fight gets to a decision, I’m not winning – not because I didn’t do good, (but) because I’m the new guy in the house. I come here and I just want to kick into people’s business. There’s a structure of business out there and you need to do a lot to destroy it. I wasn’t just expecting to win like that in a decision. But it is what it is. I do my job. I know that I did everything I could’ve done. I did my best. Maybe next time I should just do better to convince people.”

Ngannou arguably landed the most impactful offense throughout the contest, including a knockdown of Fury in the third round. While Ngannou’s performance surprised many observers who expected Fury to outclass him in the ring, “The Predator” entered the fight expecting to win.

“That fact that I didn’t win surprised me. I came here tonight to win,” he said. “I’m going back without that victory, which I was looking for. But I did learn a lot tonight about the sport. This was really my first time to fight and do a 10-round boxing match. I can tell myself that I didn’t do bad against the No. 1 heavyweight in the world. I’m just gonna go back and focus on that. And have at least that experience to work on it, that feeling to work with it and get prepared for the next time. I think this just gets me even more excited and hungry to prove I was wounded, but I realized I can bite.”

While Ngannou was well known for his quick finishing prowess in the UFC, the focus on Saturday was managing his energy. It didn’t take long for that approach to gain Fury’s respect. Ultimately, it wasn’t quite enough to get the nod on the scorecards.

“Because when we started he said, ‘Let’s go to school.’ I knew he was going to be like that. I knew everybody that doubted my ability to box is gonna be like that,” Ngannou said. “Basically when I was changing to southpaw, he wasn’t doing anything. So I realized he was having a struggle right there at that moment… I didn’t want to go crazy. The focus in this fight was not to push the power, to fight. Just focus on fighting. Not put energy on everything and gas out. If the knockout comes, it comes, then you fight to the decision.”