By Mark Eisner: Heavyweight Tyson Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) had to get up off the canvas to squeak by with a narrow 10 round split decision win over novice Francis Ngannou (0-1) on Saturday night in a fight that could have gone the other way at the Boulevard Hall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Looking flabby, weak & tired, Fury was dropped in the third by a huge shot from Ngannou.
The scores were: 95-94 for Ngannou, 96 – 93, and 95-94 for Fury. Boxing 24 scored it for Ngannou 96-93.
Fury’s mauling failed to work for him tonight, as Ngannou proved to be the stronger fighter & more effective puncher on the inside.
All night, Ngannou outmuscled and battered Fury with point-blank shots when he would attempted to use his spoiling tactics, which had become his bread & butter style since teaming up with trainer SugarHill Steward several years ago.
We’ll be giving live boxing updates below of tonight’s action.
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- In the only competitive fight on the card, heavyweight fringe contender Fabio Wardley (17-0, 16 KOs) stopped previously unbeaten David Adeleye (12-1, 11 KOs) in the seventh round. The time of the stoppage was at the 2:43 mark. Sadly, this was supposed to be the best fight on the card, and it was, but it was just a battle between two domestic-level British fighters. Wardley knocked Adeleye down, and after he got back up, he was finished off with a few nice shots. The referee could have allowed it to continue, but it wouldn’t have mattered. Adeleye was out of his depth in this contest. With that said, Wardley didn’t look that good either and was nowhere near the level of the top-rung heavyweights. The sanctioning have it right by ranking Wardley down near the bottom because he’s not someone that you can throw into the ring with any of the talented heavyweights, and expect him to be competitive.
- Former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker (33-3, 23 KOs) destroyed little-known Simon Kean (23-2, 22 KOs) in the third round of a scheduled ten round. Parker dropped Kean with a huge uppercut to the head. Kean was too hurt to continue. Referee Bob Williams then stepped in and halted the fight at 2:04 of round three. The win for Parker was his third since being stopped last year by Joe Joyce.
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- Unbeaten heavyweight phenom Arslanbek Makhmudov (18-0, 17 KOs) slaughtered his overmatched opponent, former cruiserweight Junior Anthony Wright (20-5-1, 17 KOs), in a first round knockout in a scheduled ten round contest. The powerful Russian Makhmudov dropped Wright with a crushing right-left combination to the head. When the badly hurt Wright got back up, Makhudov finished him with a powerful right hand to the head that shook him to his boots. Referee Steve Gray decided he’d seen enough and stepped in and stopped it before Makhmudov got flatline Wright. The time of the stoppage was at 1:10. I must say, this undercard has been nothing short of terrible, filled with non-competitive fights, and it’s terribly disappointing because fans are being asked to pay $79.99 for what is essentially showcase fights to make the A-side fighters look better than they are. Makhmudov should have been matched against Martin Bakole on this card instead of the 37-year-old Wright. It’s not fair to the fans to see nothing but terrible mismatches.
- Heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma (6-0, 4 KOs) made quick work of Istvan Bernath (10-2, 8 KOs), stopping him in the first round. The 18-year-old Itauma dropped the Hungarian Bernath in with a headshot. After Bernath got back up, Itauma unloaded on him with a barrage of punches, resulting in referee John Latham stepping in to halt it. The time of the stoppage was at 1:53 of round one.
- In a predictable result, heavyweight contender Martin Bakole (20-1, 15 KOs) stopped 42-year-old world title challenger Carlos Takam (40-8-1, 28 KOs) in the fourth round of a scheduled ten round contest. Referee Lee Emery halted the contest at 2:15 of the fourth after the chunky 299-lb Bakole hurt Takam with a couple of hard body shots followed by a coup de grace right to the head. It’s unclear what diet Bakole was on for this fight because he’s put on a lot of size around his midsection. Was it the Tyson all-you-can-eats diet plan Bakole was on to pack on the pounds? Moving forward, it would be nice to see Bakole step it up to start fighting quality opposition before he ages out and winds up in the same position that Takam is in. The promoters for this card should have matched Bakole against Arlanbek Makhmudov rather than Takam, but there could be some worry that Martin would get found out again like we saw when he lost to Michael Hunter. Bakole is a good basic heavyweight, but you have to question whether he’ll go anywhere, given the lackluster opposition he’s been fighting since his loss to Hunter. We’ve heard a lot about how great Bakole does in sparring, but what’s the point if he never fights anyone good?
- Junior middleweight Jack McGann (9-0-1, 6 KOs) kept his unbeaten record intact with a second round knockout of a scheduled eight round fight against Alcibiade Duran (12-4, 9 KOs).
Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) is the natural favorite in this celebrity-like match, as the 37-year-old Ngannou has never laced up a pair of gloves before professionally, and his experience in MMA is irrelevant because it’s a far different sport.
Undercard
Fabio Wardley vs. David Adeleye
Joseph Parker vs. Simon Kean
Arslanbek Makhmudov vs. Junior Anthony Wright
Moses Itauma vs. Istvan Bernath
Carlos Takam vs. Martin Bakole
Jack McGann vs. Alcibiade Duran Galvan
“Yeah, we’ve seen this week, the staging, the spectacle, it’s going to be incredible,” said Eddie Hearn to the Matchroom Boxing site, discussing tonight’s Fury vs. Ngannou ‘The Battle of the Baddest’ card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“I’ve made my comments on the fight. I don’t expect it to be competitive in the slightest. You’ve got a guy [Fury] who is #1 in the heavyweight division fighting a guy [37-year-old Ngannou] who has never had a professional boxing fight before.
“But I understand it’s a world heavyweight champion against the [former] UFC heavyweight champion and a couple of good fights on the undercard as well.
“I expect the spectacle to be incredible. I expect Tyson Fury to win or do whatever he wants in the fight, but whenever you have a fight of that magnitude and the way that Saudi Arabia promotes the event and builds those events in Riyadh season, it’s going to be a spectacle to watch.
“I’ve noticed that Tyson has gotten really aggressive about that date now, which probably makes me feel that Usyk is not ready for that date, and Tyson knows it. I don’t know. There’s a huge amount of money at stake for that fight. I think they’ll go on the date that they’re told to go on. So, I don’t think Usyk will be 100% ready for that date.
“I don’t think he’s started full camp yet. It’s eight weeks on Saturday, but again, the opportunity, the money. Maybe they’ll dive straight in. We’ll see on Saturday night in the ring or maybe even on Monday morning,” said Hearn.
Tyson Fury will be attempting to turn back the determined novice Francis Ngannou tonight in a ten round crossover boxing match between an ex-MMA champion going up against what many view as the #1 heavyweight in the division at Boulevard Hall in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event begins at 2:00 p.m. ET/11:00 a.m. PT. It costs $79.99.
