Fury Almost Chokes Away Fight, Ngannou Overachieves

Photo by Getty Images

Most combat sport observers thought Tyson Fury (33-0 24 KO) vs. Francis Ngannou (Debut) fight would be a walk in the park for Fury. And it was.

Except the park was filled with broken glass, hidden bear traps, and quicksand.

Analogy aside, Ngannou authored the latest storyline in the never-ending “MMA vs Boxing” debate. And he did so convincingly, knocking down the undefeated heavyweight champion, and leaving him bruised and bloody in the process. Ngannou’s shocking performance cannot be understated. The LIVE odds had Fury as a massive -1400 favorite to win before the first round, and in the final round Ngannou was actually the slight favorite at -125.

Most fans (myself included) gave a Ngannou little to no chance to win and it appears Fury did the same, as he put in one of his worst performances to date. Not only could he not put together any meaningful offense, his cardio was also visibly lacking. Perhaps Fury took him too lightly, and boy did it almost cost him.

The first two rounds were mainly forgettable, but the third round made everyone sit up in their seat as Ngannou caught Fury coming in and put him down with a left hand. It seemed from this point forward Fury was content to stay on the outside, away from the perilous inside fighting where Ngannou was surprisingly getting the better of many exchanges. Ngannou didn’t let up after the third round as he managed to consistently land big shots on Fury throughout the fight, keeping Fury outside.

Fury never seemed to get out of first gear, and a visibly flustered Sugar Hill would agree, consistently yelling at Fury in between rounds to follow the plan. At one point Hill even told Fury it was a close fight and to lock in.

In the end, Fury was able to pull out an airtight split decision win on scores of 94-95, 95-94, and 96-93.

For Ngannou, he showed that sometimes you can measure heart. Being at obvious skill deficit, he fought smartly keeping the fight at his preferred pace and distance, and not allowing the bright lights of the moment to distract him. Not only did he make a good account of himself, he almost made history.

This round goes to the MMA boys, and deservedly so.