Tyson Fury faced the wrath of several boxing personnel, including his opponent and a Hall of Fame promoter respected in the sport.
Lou DiBella branded Fury’ dirty as f***’ for a ‘timed power elbow’ to the forehead of the former UFC heavyweight champion.
It’s not the first time “The Gypsy King” has been criticized for an illegal move inside the ring. A forearm smash has been noted before, along with Fury punching himself in the mouth a few times into the bargain.
Fury is taking a mass of heat for his performance against Ngannou. The WBC squeaked past the novice boxer amid rumbles; Ngannou deserved the decision.
DiBella is not known to be a Fury fan at the best of times, but many agreed with his condemnation of the move.
“Flush, timed, power elbow to the forehead. Dirty AF. Francis doesn’t flinch. Man has a chin,” said DiBella in response to Ngannou.
“The Predator had reacted to some claims over his own ‘Superman punch’ that it wasn’t within the rules.
Tyson Fury’s illegal punch
Ngannou said: “Unlike the Superman punch, this was f***ing illegal!”
Flush, timed, power elbow to the forehead. Dirty AF. Francis doesn't flinch. Man has a CHIN. #boxing #mma https://t.co/pW5p6GuLv6
— Lou DiBella🥊 (@loudibella) October 31, 2023
After his most incredible night in combat sport, Ngannou now has many options open to him in both codes. He plans to assess them all before making a decision.
Francis Ngannou’s next fight
Ngannou does plan to return in the New Year, though.
“I’m going to fight sometime in February or March. Maybe in the cage or the ring, but I’m going to fight. I already basically have both, and we are working on what’s going to work better,” Ngannou told ESPN.
“I told myself that I didn’t do badly against the number one heavyweight in the world. I’ve to go back and focus on that and use that experience to work on it. I have to get prepared for the next time.
“But I think this gets me even more excited and hungry to prove. I was wounded, but I realize I can bite.”
Deontay Wilder is already being mentioned as a possible foe in either an MMA, boxing bout, or both over two fights. Wilder is a long time without a fight due to talks collapsing at every turn.
Fights against Andy Ruiz Jr. and Anthony Joshua failed to get off the ground, leaving Wilder out of action for over twelve months.
At 38, Wilder needs to move quickly, with Ngannou now the perfect remedy to his collapsed attempts.
Phil Jay is an experienced boxing news writer.
Editor of World Boxing News since 2010.
