Tyson Fury was knocked down in the third round but recovered to win in controversial fashion by split decision against Francis Ngannou on his professional boxing debut.
Fury nicked the win by split decision, with one judge scoring the bout 95-94 to Ngannou and the other two officials scoring it 96-93 and 95-94 in favour of the world heavyweight champion.
Heading into the final round, boxing betting sites had Ngannou as the favourite to win the fight – and despite a resilient finish from the former UFC heavyweight champion, he was denied one of the biggest upsets of all-time.
The highlight of the clash was undoubtedly in the third round when the Cameroonian-French MMA artist drove his opponent back with his left before cracking Fury with a left hook and sending him to the floor.
The Manchester-born fighter showed signs of damage with bleeding on his forehead in the second round and despite the end result, many believe that Ngannou was hard done by on his first appearance in a boxing ring.
FRANCIS NGANNOU DROPS TYSON FURY IN ROUND 3 🥊👑💪#FuryvsNgannou pic.twitter.com/0qat2mANWY
— MPR (@mprmotivation) October 28, 2023
“That definitely wasn’t in the script,” Fury said after the fight.
“He’s given me probably one of my toughest fights in the last 10 years.
“Francis is a hell of fighter, strong, big puncher, and a lot better boxer than we all thought he would be.
“He’s a very awkward man and he’s a good puncher and I respect him a lot.”
Ngannou didn’t complain about the result but instead suggested he had fallen short instead, a fantastic testament to his character and attitude.
“It didn’t go my way. I might have come up short today.
“I’ll come back.”
Fury, who holds the WBC heavyweight title, is set to take on Oleksandr Usyk in his next fight before the end of March 2024 – which will also take place in Saudi Arabia.
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