“I’ll Never Box Again”: Day After Francis Ngannou’s Boxing Debut Loss to Tyson Fury, Ex-UFC Champion Makes Brutal Confession About “Corruption” in Boxing While Reliving Past Boxing Fight

Before the Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou fight transpired on Saturday night, nobody had expected there would be an uproar for a decision in Fury’s favor. Nevertheless, that’s what happened after Fury was crowned the victor, especially after Ngannou dropped the WBC Heavyweight champion in the third round. Fans and experts alike have condemned the decision while branding the fight a robbery. 

The source of criticism wasn’t even limited to the boxing world either, as celebrities like LeBron James, Nate Diaz, and even Jake Paul condemned the result. Now, another name joins the line of critics. Who is that? It’s the former two-time UFC Middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, a kickboxer from New Zealand. Recently, Adesanya took to X (formerly Twitter) to reveal his experience in boxing during his early career. What’s more, Adesanya rips boxing a new one for all the alleged corruption in the sport.

Israel Adesanya reveals a past in boxing

In his tweet, Adesanya suggested the sport of boxing is great, but boxing as a business is extremely corrupt. “Boxing as a sport is beautiful. Boxing as a business is corrupt as f**k,” wrote Adesanya. What’s more, Adesanya attached a clip of him boxing in his early career, where he faced corruption. “March 2015, in this clip, I get illegally hit, and my opponent doesn’t get a point deducted,” Adesanya wrote.

Adesanya went on to claim he knocked his opponent to the ground, but it was waved off as a slip. He further asserted that when he landed a Superman punch, one point was deducted from him. Dissatisfied with boxing, Adesanya claimed he decided to pursue MMA because, in boxing, his opponent could win the fight without punching once. “I decided to pursue MMA because, in my heart as a kickboxer, I knew some nerd in pjs made of sandpaper could beat me without throwing a single strike,” wrote Adesanya.

Adesanya even suggested he had to acquire an entirely new set of skills to fight in MMA, but it was worth it in the end. “Having to learn a whole new set of skills from scratch was very humbling, but it paid off in the long run,” Adesanya wrote. He ended his tweet by asserting he will never box again. “It was fun, but  I’ll never box again. I prefer to use all my weapons in a real fight,” Adesanya confessed.

LeBron James criticizes Tyson Fury – Francis Ngannou fight

The sport of boxing transcends the square ring, attracting people from every walk of life, whether it’s Mark Walberg, an actor, or LeBron James, a legendary NBA player. Lebron James, in particular, had been closely following the Francis Ngannou vs. Tyson Fury fight. So, after Tyson Fury was given the split decision win, the ‘L-Train’ took his frustration to X.

“Exactly why I don’t watch boxing! C’mon man,” wrote Lebron in the tweet. Interestingly, people clamored to LeBron’s tweet, agreeing with his sentiment. Fury was expected to win the fight. But after Ngannou’s excellent show of performance, the entire boxing world collectively rose to express their frustration. 

Also Read: While Expressing Anger Over Controversial Loss, Fans Join Mike Tyson in Paying Tribute to Francis Ngannou for Tyson Fury Fight

The dust might have settled from the ultimate Heavyweight clash on Saturday night, but criticism of the results have not stopped coming. Popular names in the combat world, like Israel Adesanya, keep piling on the criticism for the results. However, the burning question is – How do you feel about the split decision win for Fury?

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