Tyson Fury Defeats Francis Ngannou Via Split Decision Despite Knockdown

BYCole BlakePublished on October 28, 20232.6K Views

Britain's Tyson Fury fights against Cameroonian-French Francis Ngannou during their heavyweight boxing match in Riyadh early on October 29, 2023. (Photo by Fayez NURELDINE / AFP) (Photo by FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images)

Tyson Fury secured a controversial win over Francis Ngannou on Saturday.

Tyson Fury was able to overcome a knockdown to defeat Francis Ngannou via split decision on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Fury secured tallies of 96-93 and 95-94 from two of the judges while Ngannou got one judge to tally 95-94. The loss for Ngannou marked his pro boxing debut in his first fight overall since January 2022.

“I might have come up short today, I might be wounded but I can bite, I'm just a fighter and I'm ready to fight any time soon,” he said afterward. “We can run it back soon and I'm sure I can do better. This was my first boxing match, I'm not making excuses but I can come back even stronger.”

Francis Ngannou Knocks Down Tyson Fury

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - OCTOBER 28: Francis Ngannou knocks down Tyson Fury during the Heavyweight fight between Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou at Boulevard Hall on October 28, 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Fury spoke about the fight afterward, praising Ngannou. “That definitely wasn’t in the script,” he said, as noted by The Athletic. “He’s a hell of a fighter and a hell of a lot better boxer than we thought he would be. He’s an awkward man and a good puncher and I respect him a lot. He was very awkward, he wasn’t coming forward and was waiting for me to throw. He’s given me one of my toughest fights of the last ten years.” Of the knockdown specifically, he added: “I was caught behind the head for the knockdown. I got back up and got back to my boxing, I don’t know how close it was. I got the win and that’s what it is.”

Tyson Fury Defeats Francis Ngannou

With the win, Fury is set to compete for the undisputed heavyweight championship against Oleksandr Usyk. "It will be our next fight guaranteed," Fury said. Be on the lookout for further updates on Fury's next bout on HotNewHipHop.

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About The Author

Cole Blake

Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.