Tyson Fury Beats Francis N’Gannou, in Controversial Split decision on Saturday Night in Riyadh
Tyson Fury escaped defeat in a split-decision victory over Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.
The pair met in Riyadh in what was Ngannou’s first professional boxing match after his move from UFC, where he was the heavyweight champion.
Fury was on the canvas in the third round in his ‘Battle of the Baddest’ fight against Francis Ngannou, but emerged with a split-decision win. Fury struggled to impose himself on the fight but the judges gave him a split-decision victory in Riyadh on Saturday night. The fight will likely be discussed for many months to come given the impressive nature of Ngannou’s performance.
Fury, meanwhile, came to the ring as the undefeated WBC heavyweight champion, one of the pound-for-pound best and despite standing a full 6′ 9″, is a fluid and technical boxer.
The two were fighting for the chance to call themselves ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ with Fury not putting his belt on the line ahead of an expected undisputed clash with unified champion Oleksandr Usyk later this year, or early 2024.
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After a card featuring some of the best heavyweight talent in the world, the main event shifted to the King Arena and a musical performance from Flowdan and others preceded a moment where the ring emerged from the ground.
Stars such as Lennox Lewis, Eminem, Cristiano Ronaldo, Evander Holyfield and Conor McGregor were in attendance for the spectacle, and after Ngannou made his entrance initially on a throne, Fury came to the ring in full regalia, with a cape and crown.
The ‘Gypsy King’ came in at his heaviest ever, 277lbs, and delivered some heavy right-handers in the first round, looking slightly agitated, while Ngannou did not look immediately out of his depth despite just two amateur fights to his name.
In the second round, both fighters switched stances and there were suspicions of a cut on the forehead of Fury, recalling the cut against Otto Wallin that almost cost him a win back in 2019.
A decent left from Ngannou in the third had Fury on the back foot briefly, and then the Cameroonian struck a massive punch to send the world champion onto the canvas.
Fury looked stunned and rattled but got back to his feet and then spent the rest of the round dancing away from his opponent to seek respite in the corner, before acknowledging his rival’s success once the bell rang with a friendly jab in the arm. Fury, of course, had been sent to the floor before by Deontay Wilder, and recovered to win.
