Dewey Cooper, trainer of MMA veteran Francis Ngannou, believes Tyson Fury landed an intentional elbow shot during last Saturday's fight in Saudi Arabia.
During the sixth round, Fury landed an elbow right to the jaw of Ngannou, who wasn't fazed by the blow.
“One hundred percent [Fury’s elbow was intentional],” Cooper said to Luke Thomas of Morning Kombat.
“That shows the frustration. When things aren’t going as easy or as cool as you thought, these type of things happen. It was a mark of frustration. I’m disappointed the referee didn’t even say anything or penalize him for it because that really made a difference in the fight. I still had Francis winning two, three, four, eight, 10. Seven was close. You penalize him with the elbow, we win that round too. I had him winning five to six rounds, and with the knockdown we got it. So, it should’ve been 96-94, or 95-94 for us.”
The fight viewed as a mismatch by most observers.
Ngannou, who was making his professional boxing debut, shocked everyone when he dropped Fury in the third round with a hard left hand. The fight was then contested on even terms the rest of the way.
As the fight played out, Ngannou cut Fury's forehead with an uppercut, damaged the WBC champion's left eye and had him in some trouble during the eight round.
Fury came away with a close ten round split decision win - with scores of 95-94 and 96-93 in his favor, and the third judge scoring 96-94 for Ngannou.
Based on his fighter's performance, Dewey is willing to put Ngannou in the ring with any of the top heavyweights.
“Any of ’em ’cause we’re gonna devise a plan and be ready, but I definitely love an Anthony Joshua fight,” Cooper said. “I definitely love that fight, and you know, Deontay Wilder that’s a good fight also, but honestly, real champions see no faces.”
