The ten-round bout, which headlined an evening of boxing in Riyadh, went the full distance and ended with “The Gypsy King” winning by split decision with scores of 96-93, 95-94 and 94-95. The Briton was knocked down in the third round after missing a side left jab, and in the eighth round he was close to going down again, missing several heavy punches as he tried to escalate the fight.
In the post-match interview Tyson Fury paid tribute to his opponent, saying that it was one of his toughest fights in the last ten years, and Francis Ngannou, who gave a competitive fight to the champion, said that he was ready to take revenge from the Briton, promising to prepare even better for the next match.
Recall that on December 23, Tyson Fury is scheduled for a unification bout with the current world champion in boxing under versions WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO, Alexander Usik, which should determine the absolute world champion in heavyweight boxing.