“Joke of a Fight”: Francis Ngannou Accusing Tyson Fury of “Cheating” Ahead of October Bout Does Not Sit Well With the Fan

There’s still a month left for the Tyson Fury–Francis Ngannou slugfest in Riyadh. However, the usual pre-fight fireworks seem to have commenced. Their press conference was a rather tame affair by any stretch of the imagination. But now a new allegation from Ngannou is sure to take most of the fans and followers by surprise. Quite a few of those who came across the update on Instagram, in fact, lampooned ‘The Predator’ as they disagreed with his comments.

While talking to Joe Rogan on his podcast, ‘The Joe Rogan Experience,’ Francis Ngannou shared a concern that Tyson Fury might attempt to cheat by tampering with his gloves. He said, “He’s very tricky with his glove. I think he’s cheating. I’ve heard a lot of complaints about his gloves, that his gloves have no protection.” But many fans disagreed with the mixed martial arts legend.

Francis Ngannou questions Tyson Fury’s conduct

According to this user, the October exhibition is a complete and utter farce. He probably finds it hard to imagine anyone willing to foot the bill for such a meaningless brawl. The user said, “I don’t know one person that is paying for this joke of a fight.” Then this fan posits that even before their fight took place, Ngannou, going Deontay Wilder‘s way, who, back in the day, had complained about Tyson Fury’s gloves, was making similar accusations. He said, “Man’s turned into Deontay Wilder before he’s even fought.”

Toeing almost a similar line as the last fan, this user advises ‘The Predator’ to wait until Fury has beaten him. After that, he’s free to come up with his excuses. The user probably took a dig. Ngannou could also take lessons from Deontay Wilder: “Dude, you need to wait until he’s beating you before you make excuses. Have you not learned anything from Deontay?”

This fan also decided to make fun of Ngannou’s claim. He said that perhaps the former UFC Heavyweight champion is the only participant in the next month’s battle who appears to be taking it seriously. “Ngannou is probably the only person taking this fight seriously!! Good luck to him,” the fan said. Finally, the following user seemed a bit serious. He highlighted that Francis Ngannou could blame Tyson Fury. By doing so, he is also pointing the finger at boxing’s governing bodies, referees, and his team since they are responsible for the wrapping and care of gloves.

The user said he would hesitate to accuse Tyson Fury of any wrongdoing until all of them were collectively involved. “When he accuses Fury, he [then] also accuses the boxing organizations, referees, and his only team as they oversee the gloves and wrapping. So, unless they are all in it together, I doubt he is cheating.” The user said.

READ MORE: Frank Warren Shuts Down Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou Critics With Three Simple Words

No smoke without fire: Delving into past allegations against Tyson Fury

As it appears, Francis Ngannou’s doubts appear to stem from concerns from some of Tyson Fury’s former opponents. In 2020, Deontay Wilder alleged that the world champion had reportedly cheated during their February rematch. He claimed that ‘The Gypsy King’ had tampered with his gloves. He speculated that Fury had something hard hidden in his gloves to inflict a more significant injury.

Likewise, Derek Chisora, against whom Tyson Fury defended his title last year, claimed that during the duo’s first meet in 2011, the latter cheated by ‘cutting his glove’ in the first round. Talking to talkSPORT, he said, “In the first fight, in the first round, he cut his glove, and he thumbed me in the eye. Look at the first fight in the first round. I could not see properly because he thumbed me because he cut the glove off.”

Despite being a ten-round, non-title exhibition, the hype around the highly-anticipated fight is surging by leaps and bounds. Hence, in light of the latest assertions from Francis Ngannou, fans will now be eagerly looking forward to the response from Team Fury. What is your take on the reactions? Do you agree with the fans’ sentiments? Please share your thoughts and views with us in the comments below.

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