Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou LIVE RESULT: Oleksandr Usyk says Dec 23 fight is still ON and gives Fury ultimatum
OLEKSANDR USYK has told Tyson Fury their undisputed Saudi decider has to happen on December 23 or NEVER.
The Gypsy King crept over the line to narrowly beat MMA star Francis Ngannou after being DROPPED in the third round, and Frank Warren claimed his star man would NOT be fit for the Christmas cracker.
But SunSport understands December 23 is written in the £200million three-fight contract and only a serious injury and bonafide doctor’s note can delay the bout by a couple of weeks - at most.
- RESULT: Tyson Fury beat Francis Ngannou (split decision)
Follow ALL the post-match action with our live blog below...
No injuries
Tyson Fury insists he's physically fit and able to fight Oleksandr Usyk in December - despite sporting an absolute shiner below his left eye.
He told Boxing King Media:"I've only got some surface bruising.
"There was a little bit of a head clash and a few punches but nothing major, no serious injuries."
He added: "
"I felt my timing was quite off, I have been out of the ring nearly a year again.
"I had a bit of ring rust, it was not one of my best performances, it was far from vintage Tyson Fury."
When asked flat-out if December 23 was still on the cards, he said: "I leave all that to my team, I don't get involved."
Mystic McGregor?
UFC superstar Conor McGregor reckons there is a chance Tyson Fury may snub his proposed undisputed heavyweight title fight with Oleksandr Usyk.
He said: "You think he's going to dip out of that one? You never know."
The Notorious said of Francis Ngannou's performance against The Gypsy King: "Lovely shot that caught him on the back of the head, a bit off balance as well.
"Fair play to Tyson he's a tough man as well. Strong chin.
"And Jesus, Ngannou is a powerful boy as well. Tyson couldn't hold him. He was just missing with that backhand."
Usyk's ultimatum
Oleksandr Usyk has warned Tyson Fury it's December 23 or bust for their historic undisputed title fight.
He said: "Uncle Frank [Warren] says some sneaky things.
"We have a contract that says the fight has to take place on Dec 23rd.
"Let Fury vacate his title first, then he can take his rest.
"Tyson - we must fight, we must do it, Dec 23rd. See you in the ring. I love you."
Hearn lost for words
Eddie Hearn admits he was absolutely baffled by how Tyson Fury's clash with Francis Ngannou went.
The Matchroom Boxing chief said: “I’m absolutely lost for words.
'Fury looked like he’d never laced up a pair of gloves before. I thought Ngannou won by two rounds.
“Forget Fury vs Usyk, no-one’s interested, just give us Fury vs Anthony Joshua. AJ will knock Fury out inside six rounds.”
Credit: Getty Ngannou's thoughts on the scorecards
Francis Ngannou reckons Tyson Fury owes a great deal to the two judges who scored their crossover clash in his favour.
He wrote on social media: "Tyson should say thank you to those 2 judges because I didn't win this fight."
Mike Tyson responds to robbery claim
Former undisputed heavyweight champion Mike Tyson has dismissed claims that Francis Ngannou was robbed of victory over Tyson Fury.
He said: "It wasn't a robbery, because everybody knows the outcome."
Usyk advice
Oleksandr Usyk has revealed he was shouting advice to Tyson Fury as he laboured to victory over Francis Ngannou.
He told Boxing King Media: “At the knockdown, I said, ‘Woah, woah, woah, woah, woah – Francis, be careful, please!'
“I said, ‘Tyson, jab, jab, move, jab!’
"It’s true, I was a little bit nervous that our fight was possibly in jeopardy.
"I even started to shout out to him some small things, like: ‘Use your jab, jab him faster.’ That’s it.
Credit: GETTY Eye sore
Tyson Fury has been left with a huge black eye on the left side of his face following his narrow win over Francis Ngannou.
Looks like it'll take a while to disappear.
Fury tipped to retire after Ngannou embarrassment
George Groves has tipped Tyson Fury to hang up his gloves after his narrow win over boxing novice Francis Ngannou.
During an appearance on talkSPORT, he said: "I'm not sure if he'll ever box again, I think he might sail off into the sunset.
"He will have got paid a lot of money."
Banter from Ngannou
Tyson Fury's pre-fight claim that losing to Francis Ngannou would be like Novak Djokovic losing to a table tennis player has been mocked by the MMA star.
Ngannou shared a snap of himself staring over a felled Fury, who he dropped in the third round, on his Twitter and Instagram pages.
His accompanying caption read: "Table Tennis champion of the world."
Credit: Getty Judges' scorecards
The judges' scorecards for Tyson Fury's controversial victory over Francis Ngannou have been revealed.
The fight was a close one, to say the least.
Usyk's ultimatum
Oleksandr Usyk has warned Tyson Fury that it's now or never for their undisputed title fight after The Gypsy King's promoter Frank Warren poured cold water on the fight coming to fruition for December 23.
He said:“I don't think anything about Tyson Fury's performance, I let him think about me.
“I just need him on December 23.
“The fight is happening on December 23, we have it in the contract It's December 23 or never.”
Credit: GETTY Hearn confident after Fury display
Eddie Hearn is confident that Anthony Joshua would knock out Tyson Fury.
The claim comes after Fury's controversial win over Francis Ngannou.
And Hearn reckons that AJ would see off the Gypsy King in "six rounds".
Eubank Jr gives opinion
Chris Eubank Jr has claimed that Francis Ngannou should have been awarded the win over Tyson Fury.
The boxer joked that the Gypsy King had spent too much time “filming Netflix documentaries”.
He posted: “Watching from ringside I thought Ngannou won the fight.
“It was close but he was the aggressor, landed heavier shots & scored a knockdown.
“Fury deserved to lose after having so much trouble against a man who has never boxed before… too much time filming Netflix specials not enough time in the gym I’m guessing. Unlucky Francis.”
Fight 'fix' spotted
Boxing fans claim to have spotted the moment that they "knew" Tyson Fury's win over Francis Ngannou was "fixed".
After the fact, Ngannou told ESPN that even Fury would admit that he won the fight.
Fans were left even more unhappy at an exchange between the Gypsy King and promoter Frank Warren moments before the decision was revealed.
Many social media users appeared to believe that Warren told Fury: "Don't worry, you've got this."
Fury was then alleged to have replied: "Of course."
Ngannou on boxing going forward
I feel great, I feel fantastic, I’m very happy.
It didn’t go my way. I want to thank ... the kingdom of Saudi Arabia for giving me this opportunity to prove people wrong one more time again.
I’m just a fighter and I’m ready to fight any time soon. We can run it back again and I’m sure I’m going to get better.
This was my first boxing match. Great experience. I’m not giving any excuse. I know I came up short but I’m going to go back and work harder.
With a little more experience next time, a little more feeling of the game, and come back even stronger. Because, at first, I was a little nervous.
This new sport that I never did, that I don’t really feel it, now I know I can do this s***. Now, baby, get ready. A wolf is in the house. I’m going to bite some s***.
Francis NgannouRematch?
In a word? No.
Tyson Fury reiterates that there is no rematch clause in the contract, and instead turns his attention to Oleksandr Usyk.
He said: "No rematch clause. I would like to do it again down the line but we got Usyk to deal with.
"That’s what next for us."
Ngannou worried Warren
Frank Warren has admitted that he expected Francis Ngannou to be better than many gave him credit for,
He said: “Ngannou was much better than people expected him to be. He can box.
“As soon as he shaped up I thought ‘f***ing hell this kid can box’.
“People were talking like Ngannou was some sort of nerd, f***ing computer nerd, fighting in a joke fight.
Paul's reaction to knockdown
Jake Paul could not contain himself after seeing Tyson Fury knocked down by Francis Ngannou.
Reacting to the event live, the Problem Child said: "Are you f***ing serious? Are you f***ing serious? Oh my God!
"He's got to go crazy on him."
Usyk fight delayed
Tyson Fury's £150million December 23 undisputed decider with Oleksandr is OFF and could be delayed until as late as FEBRUARY.
Fury promoter Frank Warren confirmed that his Halloween howler has now probably nudged the four-belt showdown well past Crimbo and toward a bloody Valentine's date.
The hall-of-fame Queensberry promoter said: “It is too soon to talk about what Tyson does right now but the Usyk fight is signed.
“It will go ahead but it will not be on the 23rd. It was crazy for some people to suggest that it could still go ahead on the 23rd.
“He needs a break with his family, he needs to switch off and we will announce the date when we are ready. But the fight is signed. The fight will happen.
“It will happen early in the new year, late January or February. It will be up to Tyson, it is his body.
What Fury said
Tyson Fury said in the ring his narrow victory “wasn’t in the script”.
Fury said: "That definitely wasn’t in the script. He’s a lot better of a boxer than we thought he’d be.
"He’s a very awkward man, and he’s a good puncher, and I respect him a lot.
"He was very awkward, he wasn’t coming forward; he was waiting for me to throw my punches then looking to counter."
Credit: Getty
Ngannou told to use Superman punch
Mike Tyson admitted that he told Francis Ngannou to use his Superman punch against Tyson Fury.
Although he did admit that he did not teach him how to do it.
Credit: instagram Punch stats
Woods on Ngannou
Laura Woods took to social media to praise Francis Ngannou following his controversial defeat to Tyson Fury.
She wrote: "Could have/ should have gone down as one of the biggest shocks in history.
"What a wonderful, gracious man."
Uysk reaction
Oleksandr Usyk looked stunned when Tyson Fury was knocked down by Francis Ngannou.
The Ukrainian's reaction was captured by cameras as he watched his rival be stunned by the MMA star.
Credit: TNT SPORT