Tyson Fury accused of 'avoiding' fight after Francis Ngannou 'shame'

Zhilei Zhang has accused WBC heavyweight champion and rival Tyson Fury of 'avoiding' him after a shaky fight against Francis Ngannou almost produced a huge upset.

The 'Gypsy King' is preparing for a fight against WBA, IBF, WBO, and IBO champion Oleksandr Usyk which is expected to be announced in February, but he will go into that bout off the back of arguably the worst performance of his career last month. His fight with mixed martial artist Ngannou saw him knocked down in round three, clearly caught by surprise by the Cameroonian's power and 'awkwardness' on his boxing debut as he'd put it after the fight.

Despite the setback, he won in controversial fashion via split decision with many watching at home and on social media claiming Ngannou has been 'robbed' of the victory and that the result was 'rigged' to protect Fury's record.

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After the fight, Fury admitted that he wasn't sure how close the bout had been but all that mattered to him was staying undefeated. He said: "That definitely wasn’t in the script. [Ngannou] is 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. [The knockdown] is a part of boxing. I got caught behind the head. I got up and it was alright; I got back to my boxing.

"I don’t know how close [the fight] was, but I got the win and that’s what it is. I’ve been out of the ring a long time again. You can see it in here – ring rust, everything. No excuses,