Biggest Winners, Loser From ‘Fury vs. Ngannou’

The “Fury vs. Ngannou” boxing event — which went down yesterday (Sat., Oct. 28, 2023) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia — is now in the books. Every fight on the card except for the main event ended in a knockout, including Joseph Parker knocking out Simon Kean with a devastating upper cut (see it again here). The headlining act was the only fight that went the distance, which saw Tyson Fury keep his unbeaten streak in tack by edging out Francis Ngannou via split-decision (highlights).

Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

Biggest Winner: Francis Ngannou

“The Predator” nearly turned the boxing world on its head yesterday by almost pulling off the biggest upset perhaps the sport has ever seen. In his first taste of professional boxing ever, the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight champion of the word lost a split-decision to boxing’s unbeaten big man, which many felt should have gone the other way. Nevertheless, Ngannou is a big winner in defeat because not only did he earn more respect and adoration from his mixed martial arts (MMA) community, but he put the boxing world on notice and gained some new fans from the combat arena, as well. Furthermore, the Professional Fighters League (PFL) man got a big boost to his boxing stock because his performance will now open the doors for him for further potential big-money boxing bouts, which wouldn’t have been the case had he been knocked out or handled easily by Fury. In fact, some even think Ngannou’s performance meant that his days as an MMA knockout artist are behind him, and the days of collecting big purses in the “Sweet Science” have only just begun.

---

Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

Technically A Winner, But Also A Loser: Tyson Fury

How did the winner of the main event end up in this spot and the loser at the top? It’s because Fury was supposed to dismantle “The Predator” in the eyes of most because he’s the seasoned and undefeated champio boxer, while Ngannou is a rookie in the sport of boxing. Everyone’s going to say “The Gypsy King” simply didn’t take the former UFC Heavyweight champion seriously, but that’s his own fault and, if true, a tad bit unprofessional on his end. But let’s give credit where credit is due because Ngannou almost did the unthinkable and hand Fury his first-ever defeat. Fury’s stock definitely takes a hit here despite getting his hand raised in victory, but at the end of the day it probably won’t matter of hurt his bottom line because he is still boxing’s Heavyweight champion of the world without a loss on his record. His surprisingly lackluster performance, however, may motivate him to put on a better showing in his fight against Oleksandr Usyk, which is supposed to take place this December. That said, it remains to be seen if Fury’s output against Ngannou hurts the interest of that championship matchup or pushes it back some. That’s why he’s somewhat of a loser even if technically he was the winner.

---

Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images

Biggest Loser: David Adeleye

Adeleye didn’t have the best night in Saudi Arabia. Not only did he get clobbered by Fabio Wardley in the seventh round of their Heavyweight title fight to ultimately loses via technical knockout (TKO), but it was the first loss of his professional boxing career that began just four years ago. But to make matters worse for himself, Adeleye will likely face some punishment in the form of a long-term suspension for the way he acted after the fight. In protesting the stoppage, Adeleye shoved the referee in disgust. To heighten that lack of judgement, he then threw a very soft punch at the officials midsection. While it was nothing that hurt the man in the middle, it’s a big no-no to touch the referees in any way, shape or form.

---

For complete Fury vs. Ngannou results, coverage, and highlights click HERE.