October 29, (THEWILL) – In a shocking turn of events, pro heavyweight boxer, Tyson Fury, had to get up from a third-round knockdown to beat mixed martial artist, Francis Ngannou, via split decision on Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Fury, who entered the fight as a massive 20-1 favourite, fought sloppily at times and struggled to hurt Ngannou.
However, the judges believed he did enough to earn scores of 95-94 and 96-93 from two of them, while the third had it 95-94 for Ngannou. The 37-year-old Ngannou, competing in his first professional boxing match, dropped Fury with a counter left hook late in the third round. Although clearly stunned, Fury recovered quickly and made it to the bell.
He then boxed cautiously over the final rounds as Ngannou continued swinging hard but missing frequently. “Francis is a hell of a fighter, strong, big puncher, a lot better boxer than we all thought he would ever be,” Fury said afterwards. “He gave me probably one of my toughest fights in the last 10 years.”
With the win, Fury can now look ahead to a massive heavyweight unification fight against Oleksandr Usyk, who holds the IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO titles. The two undefeated champions could clash as soon as December, perhaps again in Saudi Arabia.
“I’m gonna go home, take a long rest and we’ll see what’s next for us,” said Fury, who had been in training camp for 12 weeks leading up to the Ngannou bout.
Although Fury-Ngannou drew criticism as a perceived mismatch, Ngannou acquitted himself well and remained dangerous until the final bell. Fury had to work hard to escape with the victory and his undefeated record intact at 33-0-1.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
