Boxing fans are outraged after Francis Ngannou was denied victory over Tyson Fury.

Ngannou dropped Fury in the third round of their crossover fight in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night but couldn’t finish the job and ultimately found himself on the wrong end of the judges’ scores. As a result, Fury maintains his unbeaten record and remains on track to fight Oleksandr Usyk for all four belts on December 23.

But fans took to social media in their droves to complain about the decision as they insisted Ngannou was the rightful winner. One even thought Cristiano Ronaldo agreed with them, saying: “Cristiano Ronaldo leaving the arena after the end of the Fury vs Ngannou fight. The goat looks disappointed, he recognises a daylight robbery when he sees one.”

Another supporter was convinced Ngannou couldn’t win as it would affect Fury’s meeting with Usyk. “Ngannou was robbed! Gotta protect that fight with Usyk.” It wasn’t only fans who felt the result was wrong; the MMA community naturally rallied around one of their own with former UFC champion Henry Cejudo adding: “The biggest upset in combat sports history! Francis Ngannou just became the Lineal World heavyweight BOXING champion.”

Ngannou himself was diplomatic in the immediate aftermath of the fight but has since taken to social media to complain about the two judges who scored the bout to Fury. “Tyson should say thank you to those two judges because I didn’t win this fight,” he said while also adding: “Table tennis champion of the world” in response to Fury claiming their fight was like Novak Djokovic taking on the world’s best table tennis player.

Chris Eubank Jr also backed Ngannou, suggesting Fury had not been focused on the fight. “Watching from ringside I thought Ngannou won the fight,” he wrote on social media. “It was close but he was the aggressor, landed heavier shots and 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.”

And promoter Eddie Hearn revelled in mocking Fury, saying: “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.” Ricky Hatton, however, felt Fury had done enough, saying: “It wasn’t pretty but I thought Tyson Fury won. I said Francis Ngannou was going to be a tough opponent.”