Francis Ngannou insists he was ROBBED against Tyson Fury as he prepares to take on Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia in March… with the ex-UFC star admitting he’s ‘sceptical of getting involved in boxing’s politics’

Despite losing the bout, Ngannou silenced all doubters who questioned whether he could compete against Fury in his first professional bout. And he has maintained that he was unfairly denied a remarkable victory, while insisting he has no intention to wade into the politics of the sport. I’ve been saying this from that night but I was robbed.’ The 37-year-old told Mail Sport. ‘But I think I also brought a lot from that fight.To be honest, he was really cool but wasn’t anything to get me off the chair. The Top 10 and all that stuff, to be honest I’m sceptical towards getting involved in the boxing politics.

‘I’m just here to figure out the good fights and to get them. What happens a lot is boxing politics control some fights and stop great fights from happening, because everyone is concerned about the rankings or positions.

‘They need to win, be at like 20-0, even if it means they haven’t fought anybody. That’s certainly something I don’t really care about.

‘In combat sports it’s always risky to take a fight. There’s a risk you can lose – of course you want to win. When you want to be world champion, you’re going to have to face the most ferocious fighters, elite fighters who have the same dream as you. To keep your dream alive you have to kill somebody.’

Ngannou’s performance has catapulted him into the heart of the hotly-contested heavyweight division – no longer an inconsequential attraction but an actual contender in the class. His next bout will pit him against a rejuvenated Joshua, who dismantled Otto Wallin last month. ‘The Predator’ admitted that he will no longer be able to benefit from being an unknown quantity in his most ‘complex’ fight yet. The impact that racism has. The impact that sexism has. The impact that misogyny has on all of us females in the game [and] in sports broadcasting.

‘That’s the real impact and it’s not an isolated incident, this is now showing up as a culture in the game, from certain fan bases and certain people.

‘They’re creating a culture where people don’t want to go to work, people don’t want to leave their house, people feel under threat. Obviously there’s a big impact on mental health as well.’

It came as the UK sports minister Stuart Andrew vowed to put pressure on social media companies in the wake of Joey Barton’s ‘dangerous and disgusting comments’.

Speaking at a Department for Culture, Media and Sport select committee on Tuesday, he said: ‘These are dangerous comments that open the floodgates for abuse and that’s not acceptable.

‘I’m slightly wary that these sort of people want the oxygen and I don’t want to fuel that.’

He savaged Eni Aluko for working on Everton’s game against Crystal Palace – saying she ‘can’t even kick a ball properly’He added that he would ‘happily’ speak to social media companies in regards to Barton’s rant and noted broadcast regulator Ofcom was also obliged to issue guidance under the new Online Safety Act.

Reports emerged on Tuesday from the Telegraph that both Aluko and Ward would be seeking legal advice after being compared to the Wests.

‘How is she even talking about Men’s football,’ Barton wrote on X, the platform previously known as Twitter in December.She can’t even kick a ball properly. Your coverage of the game EFC last night, took it to a new low. Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward, the Fred and Rose West of football commentary.’

ITV were deeply critical of Barton’s comments and issued a stern response of their own, which read: ‘For Joey Barton, an ex-professional player with a significant social media presence, to target two of our pundits, Eni Aluko and Lucy Ward, with such vindictive remarks based on gender and to invoke the names of serial killers in doing so is clearly contemptible and shameful on his part.’

Aluko appeared to confirm that she has sought legal advice following Barton’s comments on X, adding: ‘I’ve seen a lot of stuff mentioned this week around freedom of speech and people being entitled to their opinions and the reality is that our freedom of speech isn’t really free.’Our speech isn’t really free and neither is our opinion, because depending on what you say, there are laws that govern that opinion and that freedom of speech. That’s not something that happened this week – that’s always been the case.

‘If you come out and are racist, or sexist or misogynistic and threaten people online, there are laws for that and that govern that behaviour. It’s not free. It’s not freedom of consequences, either.