Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou - LIVE!
Tyson Fury was hugely fortunate to avoid the first professional defeat of his career as he earned a controversial points win to survive an almighty scare against Francis Ngannou. It was the former UFC champion who dominated the crossover bout in Riyadh, dropping Fury in the third round and appearing to be the much stronger, and more comfortable, fighter in the ring over a barely believable ten rounds.
Fury suffered a graze to his forehead in the early stages and swelling began to appear below his left eye as the fight went on, Ngannou able to overpower the WBC champion on the inside and boxing superbly at range in his first ever boxing bout. It meant Fury seemingly needed a stoppage in the final round to avoid what would have been the biggest shock in boxing history, and one that would have left plans for an undisputed showdown between Fury and Oleksandr Usyk at the end of the year in ruins.
Whether a bruised Fury is ready for that proposed December 23 date remains to be seen, but that it is even an option is down to a very debatable set of scorecards. Fury seemed to be well behind as the final bell sounded, Ngannou celebrating with far more vigour, yet it was the Gypsy King who earned a split-decision win to boos around the arena, as one judge scored it 95-94 to Ngannou and the other two went 96-93 and 95-94 for Fury.
