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Anthony Gharib, ESPN
The long-awaited boxing match between WBC and lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, lived up to the hype on Saturday.
The 10-round bout ended in a split decision victory for Fury, who remains undefeated.
Ngannou defied the odds and went the distance against Fury. After leaving the UFC earlier this year, Ngannou made his intentions clear about seriously boxing in his new deal with the Professional Fighters League in May. The contract allowed him to box, setting up a megafight with Fury.
Ngannou shared his thoughts on the decision after the fight.
Tyson should say thank you to those 2 judges because I didn’t win this fight 🙄#FuryvsNgannou #RiyadhSeason
— Francis Ngannou (@francis_ngannou) October 29, 2023
Fury will defend his championship belt against Oleksandr Usyk on Dec. 23.
LeBron James and other stars were shocked by the decision.
Exactly why i don’t watch boxing! C’mon man! 🤦🏾♂️
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 28, 2023
Wtf!?
— Damian Lillard (@Dame_Lillard) October 28, 2023
😳
— Canelo Alvarez (@Canelo) October 28, 2023
Split decision…feels familiar.
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) October 28, 2023
NO F WAY FRANCIS GOT ROBBED🇨🇲🇨🇲
— Joel Embiid (@JoelEmbiid) October 28, 2023
What! OMFG!!! They gave it to @Tyson_Fury!!! #FuryNgannou
— Rosie Perez (@rosieperezbklyn) October 28, 2023
Watching from ringside I thought Ngannou won the fight. It was close but he was the aggressor, landed heavier shots & scored a knockdown. Fury deserved to lose after having so much trouble against a man who has never boxed before… too much time filming Netflix specials not…
— Chris Eubank Jr (@ChrisEubankJr) October 28, 2023
Francis did better than what I expected! Extremely! I can’t believe he dropped Fury!!!! Wow!
— Claressa Gwoat Shields (@Claressashields) October 28, 2023
Francis you won brother. No matter the scorecards you are the winner tonight. @francis_ngannou you bet on yourself and it paid off big.
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) October 28, 2023
Francis Ngannou won that fight
— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) October 28, 2023
Really sucks to see Ngannou get blatantly robbed like that… boxing needs a more objective system in place for scoring
The subjectivity & inherent bias of hand-picked judges is ruining the credibility of the sport 📉
— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) October 28, 2023
UFC fighters also weren’t shy from chiming in on the result.
Wow come on Francis Ngannou won this fight! ✊🏾🤴🏿 👑
— GILBERT BURNS DURINHO (@GilbertDurinho) October 28, 2023
No way… https://t.co/FVv9IyBJ7Y
— Casey Oneill (@kingcaseymma) October 28, 2023
Proud in the name of all the ufc fighters ! Good job @francis_ngannou !
— Alex “Poatan” Pereira (@AlexPereiraUFC) October 28, 2023
Francis!!! Super impressive and you can make the argument of him winning this! Conor pioneered the way for this, and Francis Ngannou busted the gates wide open! This is proof that with the right preparation that the MMA guys can more than hang with the best boxers around….
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) October 28, 2023
Almost! Never doubt that man again. @francis_ngannou what a beast! #furyvsngannou
— Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) October 28, 2023
. @PFL has the greatest MMA heavyweight on the planet currently . I don’t know another HWY that will go the distance with Fury! Class @francis_ngannou
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) October 28, 2023
But MMA fighters can’t box right ?🤔?
Congratulations @francis_ngannou 🦾 way to represent one hell of a fight 💯— AJ “The Mercenary” McKee (@ajmckee101) October 28, 2023
MMA is the King of all sports.
— Jan Blachowicz (@JanBlachowicz) October 28, 2023
Ngannou came to box against Fury, knocking the fighter down in the third round, marking just the seventh time in Fury’s career that he has been knocked down. Jake Paul and Henry Cejudo were among others from the combat world who reacted.
WTF!!! FRANCIS!!
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) October 28, 2023
Interesting #FuryvsNgannou
— Max Holloway (@BlessedMMA) October 28, 2023
got goosebumps
— Demetrious Johnson (@MightyMouse) October 28, 2023
Ngannou with the KNOCKDOWN #BattleOfTheBaddest
— Henry Cejudo (@HenryCejudo) October 28, 2023
He’s tired and reaching… LFG!!
— Sean Strickland (@SStricklandMMA) October 28, 2023
Ngannou just dropped Fury!!! #FuryvsNgannou
— Derek Brunson (@DerekBrunson) October 28, 2023
No way! Francis gets the first big moment 🤩🤩 #FuryvsNgannou
— Casey Oneill (@kingcaseymma) October 28, 2023
OK @francis_ngannou with the knockdown!! LETS GOO!!!
— Mark Ingram II (@markingramII) October 28, 2023