TYSON FURY has admitted to elbowing Francis Ngannou during their bout last year.
The Gypsy King narrowly came out on top in the clash with Ngannou putting up an admirable display in his first ever pro fight.
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Tyson Fury has admitted to elbowing Francis Ngannou in the face during their fightCredit: AFP
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Fury appeared to use his elbow against Ngannou in October of last yearCredit: ESPN
Ngannou didn’t just take Fury all the way to a narrow points victory, but also did it while taking an illegal elbow to the face in the process.
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Fans had spotted the dangerous hit from Fury during the fight while others had labelled the Brit as “dirty” for the sixth round blow.
But Fury had not admitted to elbowing The Predator in the match-up until he opened up on the fight in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday ahead of Ngannou’s fight with Anthony Joshua.
Defending his reputation as a courageous fighter, he said: “I hear a lot of this coward talk from the two-time heavyweight champion of the world.
“There was 10 knockdowns in them Wilder trilogies, I went to Germany to fight Klitschko and the US to fight Wilder.
“Where’s all this coward s*** come from? Who am I a coward from? I don’t get it.
“The one thing I can gauge is I hit him [Ngannou] with some flush punches in the face, quite a lot, and even an elbow right in the face.
“He never went over, so regardless of my performance and his performance, I know he’s a tough so a gun.
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“I couldn’t really tell if he was good or bad because I wasn’t having a good performance.”
Ngannou faces AJ on Friday night and Joshua will know just how tough of an opponent the 37-year-old will be from watching him impress against Fury in October.
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Fury himself is preparing for his undisputed heavyweight bout with Oleksandr Usyk in May.
And the charismatic fighter has claimed that he will take on the winner of Ngannou vs Joshua with ease.
In fact the 35-year-old has even claimed he could beat the winner with one hand behind his back.
He said: “The winner of these two [Ngannou and Joshua] will get a shot at me after I beat Usyk twice this year,
“So I guarantee when we fight again I’ll tie one hand behind my back and punch his head off.”
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Fury has claimed he will be able to beat the winner of Anthony Joshua and Ngannou’s fight with one arm behind his backCredit: Getty
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He will have to beat Oleksandr Usyk firstCredit: Getty
