Fury survives shocking knockdown, edges Ngannou via split decision

Next up: heavyweight champion will meet Usyk for undisputed heavyweight title; Wardley stops Adeleye; Parker wins by knockout

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This was not how it was supposed to go for heavyweight champion and huge favorite Tyson Fury, who found himself bleeding from a cut on his forehead in the second round, on the floor from a knockdown in the third and in a struggle of struggles against Francis Ngannou, the former UFC champion crossing over from MMA to boxing for the first time.

But Fury, whose WBC world title was not at stake in the 10-rounder, survived to win a split decision in a spirited fight to retain the lineal championship in a pay-per-view main event on Saturday at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where the fight opened the annual Riyadh Season festival with a bang.

Had Ngannou won it would have been widely viewed as one of the biggest upsets in boxing history. He came awfully close but came up just shy as judges Juan Carlos Pelayo (96-93) and Alan Krebs (95-94) scored the fight for Fury while Ed Gamer had it 95-94 for Ngannou, who may not have won but turned in a stunningly effective performance in his professional boxing debut. Fight Freaks Unite also had Fury winning 95-94 thanks to a strong finish in the ninth and 10th rounds.

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