World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury beat MMA star Francis Ngannou in a split decision after their boxing bout went the gap in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
Tyson Fury survives knockdown from highly effective Francis Ngannou
Francis Ngannou knocked Tyson Fury down in spherical three however the 35-year-old British fighter, although shaken, was capable of proceed.
The undefeated Fury, who earlier this week laughed off his opponent as a “big fat sausage”, afterwards acknowledged that the 37-year-old Cameroonian had successfully saved him off-balance.
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“He’s a very awkward man, and he’s a good puncher and I respect him a lot,” Fury stated of Ngannou, including that it was “probably my toughest fight in 10 years”.
Fury was the overwhelming favorite in opposition to boxing novice Ngannou.
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“This was my first boxing match, great experience –- I’m not giving any excuse,” Ngannou stated in a ringside interview.
“I know I come up short, I’m going to come back and work harder… now I know I can do this.”
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Fury got here out swinging within the first spherical with a tough proper hand however sustained a minimize to the brow within the second spherical and regarded particularly sluggish after hitting the mat within the third.
The last rounds dragged as each males drained, neither capable of land a decisive blow.
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“I don’t know how close it was, but I got the win and that’s how it was,” Fury stated.
“Fair play to Francis, he cut my head here. It was a good fight.”
Fury’s WBC heavyweight belt was not on the road within the “Battle of the Baddest” within the capital Riyadh, however Saudi officers however hoped it might additional enhance the Gulf kingdom’s status as a top-flight boxing vacation spot.
With all events determined to lend the competition some sporting legitimacy, the WBC had normal a “Riyadh Champion” belt to permit the winner to strut across the ring on the finish with one thing apart from a fats pay cheque.
Fury has been linked with a £50 million ($60.6 million) payout from Sunday’s exhibition bout, whereas he has stated within the British press that Ngannou will earn £10 million.
Fury has a much more critical bout lined up in Riyadh in December in opposition to the Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, who at present holds the opposite three world titles.
“I’m going to go home, I’ve been in training camp for 12 weeks,” he stated on Sunday.
“I’ll take a long hard rest and see what’s next for us.”
Saudi boxing growth?
Saudi Arabia has hosted a collection of high-profile fights in recent times together with the 2019 “Clash on the Dunes”, by which Anthony Joshua reclaimed his world heavyweight crown from Andy Ruiz, and final 12 months’s “Rage on the Red Sea” in Jeddah, by which Joshua misplaced in a split decision to Usyk.
Saudi officers say there was a surge of home curiosity in boxing in recent times.
Their aim is to have 500,000 boxers within the kingdom by 2030 as a part of a broader sports activities push beneath Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 reform agenda.
Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, now within the Saudi Pro League, and rappers Kanye West and Eminem have been available for Sunday’s occasion which marked the start of Riyadh Season, a four-month collection of concert events and sporting occasions meant to make Saudi Arabia extra engaging to vacationers.
The festivities went forward regardless of issues the Israel-Hamas battle might pitch the broader area into turmoil.
Turki Al Sheikh, head of the Saudi General Entertainment Authority, this week dismissed criticism on social media at a time when different occasions within the area have been cancelled, saying on Facebook that “every Saudi, including myself, is busy with the development and renaissance of his country”.
The battle got here up simply as soon as on Sunday, when heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov stated after his undercard win: “Victory to our brothers in Palestine!”
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