RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Former UFC champion Francis Ngannou shockingly went the distance in his boxing debut early Sunday morning, even knocking down reigning WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury at one point, but Fury remained undefeated after winning a split decision.
Two judges gave Fury the fight by scores of 96-93 and 95-94, and the other judge favored Ngannou 95-94.
Good thing for Fury, because Ngannou showed early in the scheduled 10-round fight that he wasn't going anywhere.
Ngannou staggered Fury early in the fourth, but Fury stayed on his feet and the rest of the round was fairly even after that.
Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, who also made the trip to Saudi Arabia, helped Ngannou get ready for his boxing debut.
Persons:
—, Francis Ngannou, Tyson Fury, Fury, Ngannou, Ngannou's, FanDuel, “ Francis, Francis, ”, Kanye West, Eminem, Cristiano Ronaldo, Conor McGregor, Sugar Ray Leonard, Manny Pacquiao, Brit, Lil Baby, Becky G, Mike Tyson, Ngannou hasn't, Ciryl Gane, Dana White, Oleksandr Usyk, Fabio Wardley, David Adeleye, John Latham, Adeleye, Latham, ___
Organizations:
UFC, WBC, Ngannou's UFC, WWE, Netflix, Professional Fighters League, PFL, British, Commonwealth Boxing, WBO
Locations:
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Ngannou, Riyadh, Cameroon, Las Vegas, Ukrainian