29 October 2023 , 14:22
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Francis Ngannou will be ranked in the top 10 by the WBC after his controversial decision loss to heavyweight champion Tyson Fury.
Former UFC champion Ngannou put on a jaw-dropping performance in his boxing debut against Fury when the pair fought in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night. The Cameroonian knockout artist was being written off by pundits before the crossover clash, but he went the distance with Fury and scored the only knockdown of the fight.
Fury's WBC heavyweight title wasn't on the line but the fight did go on both men's professional records. Ngannou's MMA coach Dewey Cooper revealed after the fight that Mauricio Sulaiman, president of the WBC, told him Ngannou will be ranked above the likes of Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois.
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - OCTOBER 28: Francis Ngannou punches Tyson Fury during the Heavyweight fight between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou at Boulevard Hall on October 28, 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images) (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)"Absolutely," Cooper told MMA Junkie when asked if Ngannou could fight the likes of Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua next. "Mauricio Sulaiman the president of WBC said he is going to rank him in the top ten because he is better than most of the heavyweights in the top ten. He said that in the ring, so absolutely you'll see him again."
Fury faced off with fellow heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk after his controversial win, but their undisputed fight has been delayed because of the damage the Brit took in the fight. Ngannou is expected to return to MMA next year for his PFL debut but there are now a number of exciting matchups to make for him in the squared circle.
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Cooper was disappointed about the result but promised that Ngannou will return to the ring even better following his immensely impressive debut. "I told you we were going to win the fight and we did. The one judge had it right, we’re not going to cry about it.
:I felt we won the fight, the rounds were pretty even but with the knockdown we got that," he told Boxing King Media.
“All the judges and experts said we had no shot, they’re eating crow tonight and we told you they would be. I knew Fury was going to go down, we predicted that. Look at the videos we told everybody this, it’s no surprise to us. We are just shocked by the decision but inshallah, we will come back stronger and better from it."