WATCH: Eddie Hearn Fury vs Ngannou Reaction “Ngannou Won It By A Couple Of Rounds”

Tyson Fury won his controversial crossover fight with Francis Ngannou on Saturday night in Saudi Arabia by split decision, but many boxing fans, including top promoter Eddie Hearn, felt it was the wrong result.

Heading into Saturday’s fight in Riyadh, which was dubbed ‘The Battle of the Baddest’, Tyson Fury was the hot favourite with the best online gambling sites as many felt this clash with UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou was purely a warm-up boxing event ahead of a date with Oleksandr Usyk.

With Fury even comparing this fight to Novak Djokovic playing a table tennis player.

However, it was clear from as early as the first round that Ngannou had done his homework, with former world champion Mike Tyson involved in coaching him pre-fight, and was boxing clever and looked in lean shape.

Ngannou Floors Fury In Third

After an even opening few rounds, the fight erupted into life in round three with Francis Ngannou landing a right hand to the side of Fury’s head to floor the WBC champ, which gave the crowd and the Ngannou camp hope of a famous shock defeat. Not dissimilar to the win Buster Douglas, who was also in the Saudi Arabia crowd, recorded over Mike Tyson in 1990.

Tyson Fury after the weigh-in: “This is like a table tennis champion facing Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.”

Francis Ngannou after the fight: pic.twitter.com/BstXuVk5Qm

— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) October 29, 2023

Fury, who was now also sporting a cut to the forehead, recovered from that third round knockdown, but it was a clear wakeup call and, what meant to be an easy night for the Gipsy King, was now going to turn into exactly what the fight was being billed as – ‘the Battle of the Baddest‘.

The next seven rounds saw fit-looking Ngannou, who has a world record for the hardest punch, grow in confidence and many felt that the Cameroon UFC fighter won his fair share of the second half of the fight too.

With the bout now looking like going the distance, a big shock was on the cards unless Fury could finish Ngannou off in the 10th and final round.

However, a big Fury finish never happened, and the last round looked another that the UFC fighter had in the bag. All that was left was the result to be handed over to the judges – with the majority of the boxing world gearing themselves up for one of the biggest shocks in the history of the sport.

Fury Wins In Controversial Split Decision Outcome

But, in a controversial result – judges Alan Krebs (95-94) and Juan Carlos Pelayo (96-93) scored the fight for Fury, while Ed Garner had it 95-94 for Ngannou – giving Fury the win, which sparked many reactions from the world of boxing, including top promoter Eddie Hearn.

Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou official judges’ scorecards… pic.twitter.com/AmZNiNycxw

— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) October 29, 2023

WATCH: Eddie Hearn Reaction: “Ngannou won by a couple of round, Usyk fight is dead, Joshua will KO Fury inside 6 rounds”

Next up for Tyson Fury is a possible fight with Oleksandr Usyk, who was in the crowd on Saturday night – again rumoured to take place in Saudi Arabia. However, promoter Frank Warren was not confirming a date after the Ngannou fight – saying they had to assess the Fury cut on his forehead and how it would heal first.

Despite this lacklustre display – the best UK betting sites still make Tyson Fury the 1/2 favourite to beat Usyk, with the Ukrainian fighter 13/8 and the draw 14/1