Tyson Fury overcame a knockdown to secure a split decision victory over Francis Ngannou in their heavyweight clash. Despite the unexpected challenge from the MMA fighter, Fury managed to regain his composure and outbox his opponent. However, Fury's injuries from the fight may affect his upcoming bout against Oleksandr Usyk.
Tyson Fury had to get up off the canvas before grinding his way to a highly unconvincing split decision win over Francis Ngannou in their heavyweight showdown in Saudi Arabia.
But the Briton, whose world title was not on the line, was spared what would have been one of the biggest upsets of all-time after being given the nod 96-93 and 95-94 on two scorecards, as the third judge sided with Ngannou 95-94 following an unexpectedly keenly contested 10-round encounter. “He’s given me one of my toughest fights in the last 10 years. I don’t know how close it was but I got the win and that’s what it is. No excuses, Francis caught me with some good punches, fair play to him.”The fight was billed as the start to ‘Riyadh Season’, with Saudi Arabia heavily criticised for trying to ‘sportswash’ its reputation and distract from its long history history of human rights abuses.
Both fighters wore crowns and sat on thrones before making way their way to the ring, Ngannou for the first time aged 37. After the anthems and introductions, there was an expectation the Cameroonian-Frenchman would bull rush his foe but it was Fury who threw a wild overhand right at the outset.He landed a good jab to the body and head and even appeared to be giving instructions to Ngannou when they were in the clinch, calling to ‘break’.
Ngannou taunted his adversary, briefly dancing over him, but while it was a flash knockdown, it instantly swung the momentum of the fight. From that point Fury was reluctant to engage too much, wary of the power of a man who holds the world record for the hardest punch ever recorded.
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