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Former UFC fighter Dan Hardy labelled Francis Ngannou\u2019s performance against Tyson Fury \u201cthe biggest upset in boxing history\u201d after his split decision defeat in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n
Professional Fighters League star Ngannou dropped WBC heavyweight champion Fury in the third round and appeared to dominate for much of the 10-round bout despite Fury picking up the victory.<\/p>\n
Hardy believes Ngannou \u2013 who signed a multi-fight deal with mixed martial arts league PFL in May \u2013 did the \u201cunthinkable\u201d and said he had him winning the fight on his own scorecard.<\/p>\n
PFL Europe Head of Fighter Operations Hardy told the PA news agency: \u201cFor Francis to hold his composure like he did and to outpoint and outbox him was unthinkable.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the biggest upset in boxing history even though he didn\u2019t get the decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had him winning the fight. I have my scorecard and I had him 96-93 because of the knockdown in the third and I stand by it. Ngannou certainly won the fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was an unfair decision, Francis deserved the victory and deserved the nod. But it was a close fight, no doubt about it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was blown away and I still am. I think right now Ngannou is the king of combat sports, he is the biggest combat sport athlete because of what he achieved on the weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fury had written off Ngannou\u2019s chances in the build-up, comparing the fight to \u201ca table tennis champion facing (Novak) Djokovic in the Wimbledon final\u201d.<\/p>\n
Hardy added: \u201cI think (Fury overlooking Ngannou) was a big part of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a perfect storm on the night and that to me looked like Tyson Fury halfway through training camp expecting a sparring match ahead of the Oleksandr Usyk fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think he looked at Ngannou with the same fear he would Deontay Wilder.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the third round Fury would\u2019ve been thinking \u2018I wish I prepared better for this, I wish I came in lighter\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hardy believes former UFC champion Ngannou has a future in heavyweight boxing and that he can go toe-to-toe with the division\u2019s best.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI think we\u2019ll see him fight in Professional Fighters League and then see him move back into the boxing world and have another big fight.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho else in the top 10 can he give problems to? And the general consensus now is quite a few of them. The two that come to my head are Joe Joyce and Anthony Joshua.<\/p>\n
\nIt is the biggest upset in boxing history even though he didn’t get the decision.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\u201cThe Francis we saw against Tyson at the weekend would cause those two serious problems stylistically.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he can have a career in boxing if he wants to and he\u2019s going to be ranked soon so the door\u2019s open for him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWilder is an obvious opponent, because it would be two of the biggest punchers on the planet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWilder does not have the same finesse as Fury.\u201d<\/p>\n