Moment Francis Ngannou knocked down Tyson Fury in Riyadh

Tyson Fury was on the canvas in the third round in his ‘Battle of the Baddest’ fight against Francis Ngannou, but emerged with a split-decision win.

Fury struggled to impose himself on the fight but the judges gave him a split-decision victory in Riyadh on Saturday night. The fight will likely be discussed for many months to come given the impressive nature of Ngannou’s performance.

Tyson Fury escaped defeat in a split-decision victory over Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on Saturday night.

The pair met in Riyadh in what was Ngannou’s first professional boxing match after his move from UFC, where he was the heavyweight champion.

While few expected him to win, he had been training with Mike Tyson and others and many believed him to at least have a puncher’s chance, such is his power.

Fury, meanwhile, came to the ring as the undefeated WBC heavyweight champion, one of the pound-for-pound best and despite standing a full 6′ 9″, is a fluid and technical boxer.

The two were fighting for the chance to call themselves ‘The Baddest Man on the Planet’ with Fury not putting his belt on the line ahead of an expected undisputed clash with unified champion Oleksandr Usyk later this year, or early 2024.

The ‘Gypsy King’ came in at his heaviest ever, 277lbs, and delivered some heavy right-handers in the first round, looking slightly agitated, while Ngannou did not look immediately out of his depth despite just two amateur fights to his name.

In the second round, both fighters switched stances and there were suspicions of a cut on the forehead of Fury, recalling the cut against Otto Wallin that almost cost him a win back in 2019.

A decent left from Ngannou in the third had Fury on the back foot briefly, and then the Cameroonian struck a massive punch to send the world champion onto the canvas.