October 28th 2023.
The Battle of the Baddest was a dramatic showdown in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night, but it was Tyson Fury who emerged as the winner against the unexpected challenge from MMA superstar Francis Ngannou.
Fury made a surprisingly aggressive start to the fight, charging Ngannou down straight away with a degree of impudence. This seemed to catch the Cameroonian off guard, but he soon found his stride and began to cause more problems than Fury had anticipated. This was particularly true in the third round, when Ngannou landed a huge left hook that floored Fury and left the stadium in stunned silence.
The Cameroonian had the upper hand in the fourth and fifth rounds, with Fury's superior boxing IQ and movement providing a challenge to Ngannou's unorthodox style and huge hitting. The Brit began to reassert some measure of control, but Ngannou had the advantage when the fight went into the second half.
Fury had to dig deep to find the resilience and ringcraft he needed, and he put on a much better showing in the fifth round, finally finding his rhythm and stringing together combinations. But Ngannou kept pressing forward, and with the Cameroonian up on the scorecards, the Gypsy King needed something big to secure victory.
As the tenth and final round got underway, it felt as though Ngannou only had to stay on his feet to pull off one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. But Tyson Fury's resilience and experience paid off and, despite the Cameroonian's remarkable display, the Brit was awarded a split-decision victory.
Despite his victory, it's clear that Fury was given all manner of problems against Ngannou, and the controversial split-decision win only adds an asterisk to the fight on Fury's CV. Suddenly, the Gypsy King looks more vulnerable than ever before.
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