The Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, saw a unique combat
sports spectacle on Saturday night.
On the one side was lineal UFC champion Francis
Ngannou, who won the title by knocking out Stipe
Miocic in Round 2, then successfully defended it against
interim champion Ciryl Gane.
He was making his pro boxing debut against undisputed heavyweight
champion Tyson Fury,
who had never lost in his career, most recently knocking out Derek
Chisora in the 10th round in December 2022. Would Ngannou’s
frightful punching power, the most devastating that the heavyweight
division and perhaps all of MMA has ever seen, give him a chance
against the supremely talented Fury, a 6-foot-9, 270-plus pound
goliath with the ring movement and footwork of a skilled light
heavyweight? It was a tantalizing matchup, calling to mind the
famous showdown between Conor
McGregor and Floyd
Mayweather, another instance where a top MMA striker and
champion has challenged a legendary boxer. However, Fury was still
a huge favorite, with many giving Ngannou little chance.
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It didn’t take long for the 37-year-old Cameroonian to prove them
wrong. Displaying textbook technique, agile movement, and a high
fight IQ, including managing his energy superbly, Ngannou was
competitive from the very beginning. Fury had a hard time getting
his jab going, especially as Ngannou countered him well.
Furthermore, Fury’s usual clinch tactics were less effective
against Ngannou, who was as heavy as him and accustomed to it from
his time in MMA. Fury took the opening round, but Ngannou won Round
2 and then shocked the world in the third frame, dropping the
heavyweight boxing champion with a left hook. Fury got up and
survived, and recovered over the middle periods, taking rounds 4,
5, and 6. During this period, it looked like Ngannou was too tired,
and Fury would triumph on the cards easily enough after the initial
excitement.
However, Ngannou was far from finished, having conserved enough
energy to fight effectively late into the fight. He stormed back to
win Round 7 and in an action-packed Round 8 where both men had
their moments, badly hurt Fury again, who suddenly appeared
exhausted himself. Fury, however, showed his championship mettle to
win Round 9, with the fight all tied up for all three of
Sherdog.com’s virtual scorers.
The last round was close, with neither man clearly winning it.
Still, the Sherdog scorers gave it to Ngannou by the slimmest
margin, and by extension the fight, 95-94. One of the ringside
judges agreed, having it 95-94 Ngannou. Another had it 96-93 Fury,
and the deciding judge had it 95-94 for Fury. Regardless of the
split-decision victory, which aroused immediate controversy, it was
a hugely successful showing for Ngannou, who proved he is as good
as or better than the world heavyweight boxing champion, and a
massively disappointing one for Fury. Fury is scheduled to face
Oleksandr Usyk in a heavyweight superfight at the end of
December.
Beyond the headliner, the main card was populated solely by
heavyweights. The co-main featured a battle of undefeated
heavyweight prospects as Fabio Wardley (16-0, 15 KOs) confronted
David Adeleye (12-0, 11 KOs). In the first round, Adeleye had some
success moving backward and countering. However, Wardley took over
from there, using quick, well-timed combinations and carefully
anticipating Adeleye’s movement and counter shots. He hurt Adeleye
in Rounds 4 and 6, wobbling him. Late in Round 7, Wardley blasted
his foe with a left hook-right cross combination, dropping Adeleye.
After Adeleye got up on shaky legs, Wardley continued to wallop him
with big blows, prompting the referee to stop the contest with 17
seconds left in Round 7.
Former WBO world champion and Top 5 heavyweight Joseph Parker
looked to get back on track after a knockout loss to Joe Joyce when
he faced heavy-handed Simon Kean of Canada, who came into the
contest with an impressive 23-1 record, 22 of those wins by
knockout. Parker was faster and more defensively sound, repeatedly
tagging Kean, though the Canadian landed several big right hands
that Parker clearly felt. However, in Round 3, Parker unloaded on
Kean, finally felling him with a monster right uppercut. Kean
couldn’t beat the count, with the official time being 2:04 of the
third. Parker now moves to 33-3 as a pro with 23 knockouts.
Arslanbek Makhmudov came in as a huge favorite against Junior
Anthony Wright, and he didn’t disappoint. The 6-foot-6, 260-pound
Makhmudov dwarfed the 6-foot, 229-pound Wright, a former
cruiserweight, and it wasn’t long before he found a home for his
devastating right hook. The first one sent Wright crashing to the
canvas and the second prompted the referee to stop the contest
after just 70 seconds. Makhmudov is now a pristine 18-0 as a pro
with an incredible 17 knockouts, 12 of them in the opening
stanza.
Kicking off the main card in style, Great Britain’s Moses Itauma
floored the hapless Hungarian Istvan
Bernath with a jab, then clobbered him with a swarm of punches,
stopping him at 1:53 of the first round. Itauma moves to a perfect
6-0 as a boxer.
On the undercard, Martin Bakole, who weighed in at 299 pounds, the
heaviest of anyone at the event, didn’t let it stop him from
scoring a fourth-round knockout against veteran Carlos Takam. In
the opening fight, the only one featuring non-heavyweights,
Jack
McGann knocked out Alcibiade Duran 37 seconds into the second
stanza at junior middleweight.