02 November 2023 , 11:08
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Francis Ngannou has been ranked as the 590th best heavyweight boxer after his controversial loss to Tyson Fury - and fans aren't happy about it.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou lost his boxing debut to Fury last in Saudi Arabia, but the controversial result was criticised by fans. Fury was expected to make easy work of Ngannou to set up an undisputed fight with Oleksandr Usyk, but it was anything but as he was dropped by Ngannou and only won by one point in the first split-decision of his career.
Out of 1422 active heavyweight boxers, Ngannou has entered the rankings at 590 following his impressive professional debut. The ranking didn't sit well with fans as one user wrote: "My man knocked down Tyson Fury and they put my boy in the top 500". A second comment read: Considering he just brought the No.3-ranked guy to a close fight he should be a lot higher."
How did you score Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou? Let us know in the comments section below
"Francis is a top 10 heavyweight boxer minimum after that if not more cos he legit dropped Fury and arguably won," another user commented. "Wow, that ranking is s***. I would have agreed if they put him inside the top 50 but no way at the 500 mark," a fourth comment read as a final user added: "I think he’d be favoured over Otto Walin and Murat Gassiev who are both top 10 on Boxrec."
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Ngannou has been linked to fights against Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder after his loss to Fury, who is still expected to face Usyk for the undisputed world titles next. Ngannou is hoping to make his PFL debut at the start of next year but he could have another boxing fight against a big name before going back to MMA.
“I’m going to fight sometime in February or March,” he told ESPN. “Maybe in the cage or in the ring, but I’m going to fight. I already basically have both, and we are working on what’s going to work better. I came here to win, but I’m going back without that victory, which is not what I was looking for.
"I was really looking forward to winning this fight, but I did learn a lot about the sport. This was really my first time to fight and to do 10-round boxing match, straight boxing. I told myself that I didn’t do bad against the No. 1 heavyweight in the world, so I’ve just to go back and focus on that, and use that experience to work on 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 realise I can bite.”