Tyson Fury holds on for dear life against a game Francis Ngannou

The Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou heavyweight fight from Saudi Arabia was a spectacle to say the least. The two behemoths fought in front of Eminem, Kanye West, Vince McMahon with live performances from Lil Baby and Becky G. With so much hype leading up to the fight the question is would the fight live up to the expectations?

The fight was a lot closer than people could have envisioned with the former UFC champion in his boxing debut almost upsetting the lineal world champion Fury. Ngannou dropped Fury in the third round with a hard left hook. Fury coming into the fight was the overwhelming favorite to win.In fact Ngannou was a 14-1 underdog. The crowd at the lavish new Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was chanting Ngannou’s name in the final minutes of the 10th round in appreciation of his amazing performance.

Fury won a split decision by scores of 96-93, 95-94 and 94-95, but former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou clearly won the night. “I’m feeling great; I’m feeling happy,” Ngannou said. “I feel fantastic and I’m very happy. It didn’t go my way.” Ngannou, who is built like a tank, was an issue for Fury. Ngannou recently signed a deal to compete in the PFL and will likely make his debut there next year. Ngannou showed that he is built for the crossover. Ngannou looked as if he could compete on a regular basis in the heavyweight division, though he had some rough moments.

As for Fury who weighed 277.2 pounds looked gassed and outta shape. Fury had already signed for a bout for the undisputed heavyweight title on Dec. 23 against Oleksandr Usyk before he met Ngannou. Usyk and Fury met in the center of the ring. When asked if their fight was still on for Dec 23. Fury seemed non committal about the date and the way he fought tonight it wouldn’t be a shock if they pushed it back to next year so Fury can train more.

Fury said he would give Ngannou a rematch but said he would face Usyk before facing Ngannou again.