Tyson Fury defeated Francis Ngannou by split decision after he was knocked down by the Cameronian.
Newsone reports that British professional boxer, Tyson Fury was forced to survive a third-round knockdown to eke past Francis Ngannou via split decision on Saturday, October 28, 2023, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
This online news platform understands that Fury – who did not put his WBC belt on the line for what was billed as an exhibition fight – was expected to wipe the floor with his opponent, who was making his professional boxing debut.
However, Ngannou, a former UFC heavyweight champion, boxed brilliantly as he took the Gypsy King the distance and left him bruised and battered in one of the toughest fights of his career.
One judge gave the fight to Ngannou with a 95-94 score, however, he was overruled by the two other officials who awarded a split decision win to Fury with highly-debatable scorecards of 96-93 and 95-94.
Ngannou was making his pro boxing debut in his first fight since January 2022 and Fury was installed as a 14-1 favorite to win the match. Fury now moves onto an undisputed heavyweight championship fight against Oleksandr Usyk, who was ringside for Saturday’s bout.
Meanwhile, Newsone Nigeria reports that boxing fans claim Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou fight was rigged in favour of Tyson Fury who was earlier knocked down in the 3rd round by Francis Ngannou
The Fury-Usyk fight is already signed and planned for Dec. 23 in Riyadh, but it’s unclear if the fight will happen on that date.
“It will be our next fight guaranteed,” Fury said.