Francis Ngannou went all 10 rounds with the WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and pulled off a performance few expected from on Saturday night as he provided Fury with one of his toughest tests to date inside the boxing ring. With the odds against Ngannou, who was making his boxing debut, he turned up against Fury and lost a razor-close split decision.
“The Gypsy King” started the fight well as he landed some crisp combinations on the Cameroonian. “The Predator” withstood this early pressure and dropped Fury in round 3 with a left hook to show that he was here to fight. From then on, the two giants went back and forth trading punches, with Ngannou landing the harder shots. Many fans and experts believe Ngannou won the fight despite losing on the judge's scorecards.
No one, including Fury, expected such a tough challenge from Ngannou who represented himself, his team, and the sport of MMA with the highest of class and skill. Previous crossover boxing matches between professional boxers and MMA fighters have been one-sided in favor of the boxers, but Ngannou stepped in there and nearly defeated one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time.
Francis Ngannou continues to prove the doubters wrong as he showed out in the “Battle of the Baddest” on a star-studded night in Riyadh. Despite losing on the scorecards, Ngannou has much to be proud of as he stood toe to toe with the undefeated Tyson Fury for the entire fight. Coming off such an impressive performance on his boxing debut, we cannot wait for the “Predator” to return to MMA in the PFL’s SmartCage.
