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Split decision! Tyson Fury knocked down, barely decisions Francis Ngannou
In a struggling performance, Tyson Fury remained undefeated with a narrow split decision win over former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou, beating him in a fight that came down to one round on a judge’s scorecard (95-94 Ngannou, 96-93 Fury & 95-94 Fury).
Francis Ngannou was able to compete with Tyson Fury throughout the fight, pressuring him and even picking up a knockdown in the early rounds. But in the eyes of two of the three judges at ringside, Fury was able to land enough against the crossing over fighter to remain undefeated.
The fight went from a close and quiet encounter to a loud and dramatic one in the third round, when Fury was caught with a clean left hook from Francis Ngannou. Tyson Fury was able to recover from this shot, beating the 10-count and surviving the final 30 seconds left in the round once it resumed.
There were brief moments where Francis Ngannou would get a big reaction from the crowd. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion had a second wind in the eighth round, scoring a series of hooks to the head that backed Tyson Fury up. The fight had a low output from both fighters at times, including rounds where hardly any clean shots were landed.
Tyson Fury comments on rough performance
After the fight, Tyson Fury was asked about the fact that he kept his attack to a slow pace through all 10 rounds.
“I’ve been out of the ring a long time again … You can see it in here, ring rust and everything,” Tyson Fury said in his post-fight interview.
Ngannou was making his first-ever appearance in boxing. His last combat sports appearance dated back to early 2022, when he defended his UFC Heavyweight Championship with a five-round unanimous decision win over Ciryl Gane.
Tyson Fury was making his first appearance of 2023. He earned a pair of stoppage wins the year before, beating Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora to defend his WBC Heavyweight Championship.