Tyson Fury escaped from Francis Ngannou with a contentious split-decision victory after their 10-round non-title bout in Saudi Arabia.
Despite being knocked down in the third round, Fury took the result 96-93 and 95-94 on two of the judges’ cards. One judge had it 95-94 for Ngannou.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou was fighting Fury in this crossover event.
Fury struggles to control Ngannou
Fury is the WBC champion and widely regarded as the leading heavyweight in the sport. He is unbeaten as a professional, while Ngannou in contrast was boxing as a pro for the first time in this scheduled 10-rounder.
Fury’s title could not be on the line against an opponent with no professional boxing experience
But the mixed martial artist pushed him desperately close. After blasting Fury over with a tremendous left hook in the third, Ngannou exerted impressive control in many of the subsequent rounds, only for Fury to emerge with this narrow controversial split-decision win.
More to follow…
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