WBC heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury defeated former UFC fighter Francis Ngannou on a split decision in a non-title fight in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, October 29, delivering one of boxing’s biggest upsets as many felt Ngannou deserved the win.
Fury, the unbeaten holder of one of the sport’s most prestigious belts, narrowly avoided his first loss at the hands of a 37-year-old opponent who had never boxed professionally before but went the full 10 rounds with swagger.
Ngannou dropped the Briton to the canvas with a left hook in round three, and while the 35-year-old self-styled “Gypsy King” was able to finish the round, he had no doubts about what he was up against.
One judge scored it 95-94 for Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion, but that was overturned by Fury’s scores of 96-93 and 95-94. The WBC heavyweight title was not at stake in the 10-round boxing match. Ngannou was fighting for the first time since January 2022, making his pro boxing debut.
England’s Fury was installed as a 14-1 underdog to win the match and advance to a fight for the undisputed heavyweight championship against Oleksandr Usyk. And now Fury will, despite arguably his ”worst performance of his career,” according to sports commentators.
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Tyson Fury appeared befuddled throughout the fight, unsure how to attack Ngannou, who had surprising timing. In Round 3, he clipped Fury on the temple with a left hook for the seventh knockdown of Fury’s career. But, as he had done six times before, including four times in his heavyweight title trilogy with Deontay Wilder, Fury beat the count.
However, many boxing fans believe that the match was rigged in Fury’s favor.
Fury stated that there is no rematch clause in the contract, but he would like to fight Ngannou again “down the line” following an undisputed title fight with Ukraine’s IBF, IBO, WBO, and WBA champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Both champions have stated that they will meet in Riyadh on December 23, a date that has yet to be officially announced.
Usyk, who was in Saudi Arabia to observe his future opponent, stated that he was prepared.
Ngannou vacated his heavyweight title in January due to a contract dispute with the UFC.
“My training camp was only three and a half months and I came into this with an injury. But I don’t want to give excuses. I will look at what I can do next to improve my game to come back even better,” he said.
“Now I know I can do this…, get ready. The wolf is in the house.”
