The most anticipated boxing event of the year took place on October 23rd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between “The Gypsy King” Tyson Fury and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou. Two of the baddest and strongest heavyweights in combat sports were finally facing off in this long-awaited matchup. Ngannou had long expressed a desire to participate in boxing and fans clamored to see the fight once it was announced in July. The fight drew many big names to see this fight such as Eminem, Mike Tyson, Christiano Ronaldo and Vince McMahon.
The undercard opened with a slugfest between Martin Bakole and Carlos Takam that saw Bakole get a TKO win in round four after defeating Takam with a fury of punches. 18 year-old rising star Moses Itauma continued his win streak to six fights after getting a first round knockout over István Bernáth. Itauma has said before that he intends to break Mike Tyson’s record and become the youngest world heavyweight champion. Itauma received Tyson’s approval and advice prior to the fight. The undefeated Arslanbek Makhmudov overpowered Junior Anthony Wright in the first round, Makhmudov has been climbing up the ranks in the boxing world and it is clear to see that he has become a serious WBC heavyweight title contender.
Joseph Parker demolished two time Olympic gold medalist Simon Kean in round three of their fight with a massive upper cut, continuing his own streak of wins. This was a difficult streak to extend given Kean’s pedigree. The penultimate fight was a match between Fabio Wardley and David Adeleye that saw Wardley drop his opponent in round 7 after punishing the previously undefeated Adeleye with a hook that sent him crashing down to the ground. After the fight, Adeleye was enraged and struck the referee in anger.
The main event saw Francis Ngannou and Tyson Fury batter each other for ten rounds. Even with Fury being taller than most of his opponents, Ngannou’s pure strength and skill made this a difficult match for Fury. The most shocking moment came in round three, when Ngannou landed a left hook that sent Fury straight to the canvas, stunning the crowd and millions watching internationally. Even with his valiant effort, Ngannou lost to Fury by split decision. Despite Fury’s win, everyone in the boxing world is talking about Ngannou and who the next opponent for “The Predator” will be. There is also debate around whether the Cameroonian fighter is going to make a comeback after nearly defeating a world champion.
