PUNCH stats from Tyson Fury’s highly controversial win over Francis Ngannou appear to show that The Gypsy King deserved his dubious victory.
Fury’s dismal split-decision win over former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou, 37, was labelled a “fix” by some fans as they believe the ex-MMA star did enough to have his hand raised.
Tyson Fury controversially beat Francis Ngannou by split decisionReuters
Ngannou stunned the crowd in Saudi Arabia by dropping Fury in the third round.
And he enjoyed success throughout the contest in what was a complete shock to most fight fans.
However, the punch stats to do not reflect claims that Ngannou was robbed.
In fact, they paint a picture which suggests Fury’s victory was deserved.
According to Compubox, the WBC champion landed more punches in six of the 10 rounds, with Ngannou claiming three rounds and one being drawn.
In terms of percentage of punches landing, Fury also beat Ngannou in seven of the rounds.
And the total number of punches landed were 71-59 in Fury’s favour, with the overall percentage of punches landed also showing that the undefeated boxer had the edge – 31.8 per cent to 25.5 per cent.
Power punches were the only stat in Ngannou’s favour – 37 to 32 over the 10 rounds.
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Yet despite the stats appearing to show that Fury rightfully had his hand raised, fans remain unconvinced.
And they were quick to claim that the numbers do not tell the whole story.
One said: “Doesn’t matter if they landed, Francis landed the much hard and more significant damaging shots. Look at both their faces.”
Another added: “Significant punches tell the story of this fight. Fury looked in more trouble on several occasions than Ngannou ever did.”
A third replied: “Fury only had 2 rounds where he landed more power punches, 90% of the shots Fury landed was pitter patter jabs that had nothing on them!”
While a fourth responded: “Doesn’t tell the story of the fight. 12 more punches over the course of a 10 round fight Vs a UFC fighter who dropped him and had the more meaningful work whilst Fury did his best KSI impression.”
Despite the controversial nature of the decision, Ngannou was gracious in defeat.
He said: “We can run it back again and I’m sure I’m gonna get better.
“This was my first boxing match, [it was] a great experience.
“I’m not giving any excuses, I know I came up short. But I’m gonna go back and work harder.
“And with a little bit more experience and a little more feeling for the game and come back even stronger.”
Meanwhile, Fury added: “That definitely wasn’t in the script. Francis is a hell of a fighter.
“He’s strong, he’s a big puncher and a lot better boxer than we thought he’d ever be.
“He’s a very awkward man and he’s a very good puncher.
“And I respect him a lot, before the fight and after the fight.”