Prior to winning the UFC heavyweight title, Ngannou had long expressed an interest in moving to boxing, specifically facing Fury or former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. Following Fury's victory against Dillian Whyte in April 2022, Ngannou entered the ring and the pair put forth a suggestion for a bout against one another. Ngannou left the UFC in January 2023 following a year-long contract dispute. One of his main gripes was the UFC's denying of his insistence of a right to box in his contract.[2] Ngannou later signed with the PFL, which would allow him to box.[3]
A professional bout between Fury and Ngannou was announced on 11 July 2023, to take place in Saudi Arabia. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman confirmed that Fury would not be stripped of his title and that the organisation had given him special permission to compete.[4]
Prize money for the bout, not including earnings from Pay Per View, was estimated at US$10 million for Ngannou and US$50 million for Fury.[5]
The fight
The fight was close and competitive throughout with both fighters switching stances multiple times. Fury was knocked down from a left hook in the 3rd round. Nevertheless he survived to win a somewhat controversial split decision.[6] Ngannou attempted a superman punch in the final round.
Aftermath
Fury would agree to an undisputed showdown with Oleksandr Usyk set for 17 February 2024 (later pushed back to May). Ngannou would next face former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, who stopped him inside two rounds.
Undercard
The undercard featured six bouts of which the primary fight on the undercard was Fabio Wardley and David Adeleye, for the WBO European, WBA Continental, Commonwealth, and British heavyweight titles. At the pre-fight press conference on 23 October 2023, there was what was described by Sky Sports as a "scuffle on the red carpet".[7][8]
Other fights on the card were a bout for the IBF and WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight titles between former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker against Simon Kean both have previously defeated Daniel Martz and Shawndell Winters. The bout is billed as 'Worlds Apart'.[9][10][11][12][13]Carlos Takam vs Martin Bakole, this bout was first suggested after Takam defeated Tony Yoka on 11 March 2023, where he used his post-match press conference to call for a bout between himself and Bakole. The bout was later confirmed on 1 October 2023 and billed as 'African Rule'.[9][14][15] A North American Boxing Federation (NABF) heavyweight title fight between Arslanbek Makhmudov and Junior Anthony Wright was announced after Makhmudov's original opponent Agron Smakici withdrew for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Wright. It was later announced that the vacant WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title would also be on the line.[16][17][18][19][20][21] Moses Itauma vs István Bernáth was a late addition to the fight card less than one month after Itauma fought on the Joe Joyce vs Zhilei Zhang rematch undercard.[22][23][24]
The only non-heavyweight fight on the card was Jack McGann vs Alcibiade Duran, which took place at super welterweight.[25][26][27]
^"SCHEDULE". ibf-usba-boxing.com. International Boxing Federation. 28 October 2023. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
^"New opponent for Makhmudov". toprank.com. Freitag Marketing Services, LLC. 13 October 2023. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
^"WBA Scores Analysis". wbaboxing.com. World Boxing Association. 28 October 2023. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
^"WBA Fights Master Scores". wbaboxing.com. World Boxing Association. 28 October 2023. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
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