Tyson Fury knocked down but beats Francis Ngannou on a split decision

WBC heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury has beaten former UFC fighter Francis Ngannou on a split decision in a non-title fight in Saudi Arabia

WBC heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury has beaten former UFC fighter Francis Ngannou on a split decision in a non-title fight in Saudi Arabia that almost delivered one of boxing’s biggest upsets.

Fury, the unbeaten holder of one of the sport’s most prestigious belts, narrowly avoided a first defeat on Oct 29 (Sunday) at the hands of a 37-year-old opponent who had never boxed professionally before but went through the full 10 rounds with some swagger.

Ngannou, whose UFC record was 17-3, knocked down the Briton in the third round with a left hook, although the 35-year-old self-styled “Gypsy King” was able to see out the round.

But this was a missed opportunity at a major upset. Ngannou landed only six of 38 punches in the final two rounds, according to CompuBox, compared with 14 of 37 for Fury.

Fury landed more punches overall (71-59), but Ngannou hit the mark with more power shots (37-32).

Fury remained undefeated at 34-0-1 with 24 knockouts but was under no illusions about the near-upset.

“That definitely wasn’t in the script,” said Fury after two of the judges gave him the win 96-93 and 95-94. The third judge scored it 95-94 in favour of his Cameroon-French opponent.