BOXING fans claimed Tyson Fury was given 23 SECONDS to recover from being knocked down by Francis Ngannou.
But the referee and officials actually complied with boxing rules.
Fury was sent crashing to the canvas in round three of his crossover clash with Ngannou following a counter left hook.
The Gypsy King was up on his feet within seconds and beat the ref's count to survive the onslaught.
But a video circled on social media of Fury taking 23 seconds from the time he was floored to being waved to fight on.
And some fans fumed as one said: "Ngannou was robbed twice."
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Another added: "Absolute robbery."
Despite some fans' fury, a ref's count does not start from when the downed boxer hits the floor.
The British Boxing Board of Control sanctioned the bout, despite it being in Saudi Arabia.
And their rules state that the count cannot begin until the opponent is in the neutral corner.
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Rule 3.32 states: "Should a Boxer go down to the floor as the result of a legitimate blow, the Timekeeper shall count off the seconds strictly in accordance with their watch.
"The opponent shall retire immediately to the furthest neutral corner and neither boxer shall resume boxing until ordered to do so by the referee."
After Fury, 35, was dropped, Ngannou, 37, walked towards him and performed a little dance to boast of his knockdown.
That meant the count could not start and saw Fury given valuable seconds to recover.
Ngannou actually opened up about his goading to Fury in a post-fight interview with ESPN.
Should a boxer go down to the floor as the result of a legitimate blow, the timekeeper shall count off the seconds strictly in accordance with their watch.The opponent shall retire immediately to the furthest neutral corner and neither boxer shall resume boxing until ordered to do so by the referee.
He said: “When we touched gloves, he’s, like, ‘Let me take you to school.’ I’m like, ‘You motherf*****, you are not taking me to school.
“That’s why when I knocked him down, I was dancing, like, ‘You’re a bad professor, motherf*****. You’re a bad professor. How is that school going? Who is taking who to school?’”
Fans were also quick to defend Fury as he got to his feet before the midway point of the ref's count.
One said: "It was a flash knockdown, Fury was up in five seconds."
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Another added: "Fury was up well before the standing eight count then it’s just a question of if the ref feels he is ready to continue."
One argued: "He got up after five that’s what matters."
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