By Jimmy
Tyson Fury took on former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in a 10-round non-title bout in Riyadh.
Ngannou was having his first professional boxing contest but was to be denied victory as Fury escaped with a contentious split-decision win.
After blasting Fury over with a tremendous left hook in the third and knocking him down, Ngannou exerted impressive control in many of the subsequent rounds. However, Fury took the result 96-93 and 95-94 on two of the judges’ cards. The other judge had it 95-94 for Ngannou.
The story of the fight
Ngannou almost engineered the most remarkable upset the heavyweight division — and even the entire sport of boxing — has ever seen. But it did not start off that way.
At the opening bell Fury moved straight out to the centre of the ring to meet him. He touched Ngannou with a jab to the body before sticking his right cross into the head. Ngannou lunged in, only for Fury to tie him up in a clinch.
Fury jabbed Ngannou back and, looking flat-footed early on, Ngannou could not catch him with his own lead.
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The MMA star did bound back from the Briton’s one-two. But Fury connected with a second, hard straight left-right. Fury was looking assured and even when Ngannou slugged him with a right, he shrugged it off and stuck out his tongue at the end of the round.
But concern would soon creep into his work.
The two collided and, looking worried, Fury dabbed at a graze on his forehead. His problems got worse, shockingly so in the third round.
Ngannou upended Fury, and the world’s expectations when he smashed the WBC champion off his feet with a left hook. Fury was hurt, significantly so, and took his time to rise. That allowed Ngannou’s confidence to blossom. He came on confidently in the fourth round and knocked Fury into the ropes.
Fury stirred himself and smacked a solid one-two fully in Ngannou in the next round. But the former UFC fighter withstood those big hits. Not only that, but he came back with his own by waiting for Fury to attack and thudding counter-punches into him.
Rather than upping the pace as expected, Fury stayed away, keeping himself at range and boxing at a sedate pace. He tapped in the odd jab and switched stances as he searched for a way through but failed to find it as the remaining rounds leaked away from him.
However, the judges contentiously decided he had just edged it.
Reactions
“That definitely wasn’t in the script,” Fury acknowledged after the match. “He’s given me probably one of my toughest fights in the last 10 years. Francis is a hell of a fighter, strong, big puncher, and a lot better boxer than we all thought he would be. He’s a very awkward man and he’s a good puncher and I respect him a lot.”
While Francis Ngannou could hardly have been blamed if he had condemned that judging, he did not.
“It didn’t go my way,” he reflected instead post-match. “I might have come up short today. I’ll come back. We can run it back again and I’m sure I’m going to get better. I know I came up short, but now I know I can do this.”
“Get ready,” he declared. “The wolf is in the house. I’m going to bite some sheep.”
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Boxing legend Mike Tyson was approached by fans ringside after the fight and asked about his scoring of the fight. When questioned about whether he thought it was a robbery, Tyson – who had been coaching Ngannou – expressed his opinion.
“No, it wasn’t a robbery because everybody knows the outcome,” Tyson noted.
Tyson also took to social media to praise his fighter.
“The true champ of the evening,” he wrote, referring to the former UFC star.
“The true champ of the evening @francis_ngannou So proud how you performed.”#BattleoftheBaddest #RiyadhSeason pic.twitter.com/btQcCrPJkC
— Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) October 29, 2023
However, Ngannou later took to social media to express his opinion, stating that Fury should thank the two judges.
“The true champ of the evening @francis_ngannou So proud how you performed.”#BattleoftheBaddest #RiyadhSeason pic.twitter.com/btQcCrPJkC
— Mike Tyson (@MikeTyson) October 29, 2023
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