By Joiner Martínez
28 Oct 2023, 9:32 PM EDT
The English fighter Tyson Fury survived a fall to defeat the Cameroonian Francis Ngannouen by split decision in the fight that both held at the Boulevard Hall in Saudi Arabia.
Fury retained his WBC world heavyweight champion title, after judges Alan Krebs and Juan Carlos Pelayo voted 95-94 and 96-93, respectively, in favor of Fury, while Ed Garner saw winner to Ngannou 95-94.
The result left several fans upset, as many saw Ngannou win, who hit Fury in the head during the third round and knocked him down. However, true to his champion guts, Fury got up and resumed his boxing to win the fight.
The fight, dubbed “Rumble in Riyadh”, pitted two of the best heavyweights of the moment in their respective sports although the British heavyweight title was not at stake. Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs), 35, from Manchester, England, was coming off two knockout victories.
Fury earned a narrow victory in a decision that came down to one round on the judges’ scorecards. Ngannou was able to compete with Fury throughout the fight, pressuring him and landing several punches, although he seemed tired by the end.
“This wasn’t in the script. Francis is a great fighter. He is a great puncher and his strange style was complicated,” Fury said at the end of the fight. “I respected (Ngannou) before and during the fight.”
Ngannou stressed that he is very proud of his performance and is now ready to continue honing his boxing skills. “Maybe he hit more, but I proved once again that a lot of people are wrong. I am a great fighter.
“Now I know that I am made for this shit… I am a wolf and I am ready to bite many sheep,” the Cameroonian stressed.
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