 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date | 28 October 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fury wins via 10-round split decision (94–95, 96–93, 95–94) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou, billed as Battle of the Baddest, was a professional boxing match between reigning WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou, that took place on 28 October 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The British Boxing Board of Control was the host commission for the event. [1]
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 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.
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.
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]
| Weight Class | vs. | Method | Round | Time | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main Card | |||||||
| Heavyweight |  Tyson Fury | def. |  Francis Ngannou | SD | 10 | Note 1 Note 2 | |
| Heavyweight | Fabio Wardley | def. | David Adeleye | TKO | 7 (12) | 2:43 | Note 3 |
| Heavyweight |  Joseph Parker | def. |  Simon Kean | KO | 3 (10) | 2:04 | Note 4 |
| Heavyweight |  Arslanbek Makhmudov | def. |  Junior Anthony Wright Jr. | TKO | 1 (10) | 1:10 | Note 5 |
| Heavyweight | Moses Itauma | def. |  István Bernáth | TKO | 1 (6) | 1:53 | |
| Heavyweight |  Martin Bakole | def. |  Carlos Takam | TKO | 4 (10) | 2:15 | |
| Preliminary Card | |||||||
| Super welterweight | Jack McGann | def. | Alcibiade Duran | TKO | 2 (8) | 0:37 | |
^Note 1 WBC Commemorative Riyadh title.
^Note 2 Ngannou's professional boxing debut.
^Note 3 For WBO European, WBA Continental, Commonwealth, and British heavyweight titles.
^Note 4 For IBF and WBO Inter-Continental heavyweight titles.
^Note 5 For WBA Inter-Continental and NABF heavyweight titles.
| Country/Region | Broadcasters | |
|---|---|---|
| PPV | Stream | |
| MENA (inc. Saudi Arabia as host) | Webook | |
| United Kingdom | TNT Sports Box Office | |
| Ireland | ||
| Unsold markets | DAZN | |
| Australia | Main Event | |
| Kayo Sports | ||
| Brunei | Astro Box Office | Astro GO |
| Malaysia | ||
| Canada | TSN+ | |
| United States | ESPN+ | |
The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Organization (WBO).
Alexander Vladimirovich "Sasha" Povetkin is a Russian former professional boxer who competed from 2005 to 2021. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight title from 2011 to 2013; the World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title from 2020 to 2021; and challenged twice for the unified heavyweight championship in 2013 and 2018.
Michael Hunter, Jr. is an American professional boxer who challenged for the WBO junior heavyweight title in 2017. As an amateur, he won the National Championships as a super heavyweight in 2007 and 2009, and qualified for the 2012 Olympics in the heavyweight division. He is the son of late professional boxer Mike "the Bounty" Hunter.
Tyson Luke Fury is a British professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in the heavyweight division, including unified titles from 2015 to 2016, the Ring magazine title twice between 2015 and 2022, and the World Boxing Council (WBC) title from 2020 to 2024. He also held the International Boxing Organization (IBO) title during his first reign as champion.
Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held the undisputed championship in two weight classes, at cruiserweight and heavyweight, and reigned as the undisputed world heavyweight champion from May to June 2024. He has also held the International Boxing Organization (IBO) title since 2021, and the Ring magazine title since 2022.
Derek Chisora is a Zimbabwean-British professional boxer. He has challenged twice for the WBC heavyweight title in 2012 and 2022. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the British and Commonwealth titles from 2010 to 2011, and the European title from 2013 to 2014. As an amateur, he won the ABA super-heavyweight title in 2006.
Andrés Ponce Ruiz Jr. is a Mexican-American professional boxer. He is a former unified world heavyweight champion, having held the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation (IBF), and World Boxing Organization (WBO) titles in 2019. He also held the International Boxing Organization (IBO) title during that reign.
Joseph Dennis Parker, OM is a New Zealand professional boxer. He has held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) interim heavyweight title since March 2024. Previously, he held the WBO heavyweight title from 2016 to 2018. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the WBO Oriental, Africa, and Oceania titles; as well as the PABA, OPBF, and New Zealand titles. As an amateur, he represented New Zealand at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in the super-heavyweight division, and narrowly missed qualification for the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Mariusz Wach is a Polish professional boxer. He challenged once for the unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles against Wladimir Klitschko in 2012.
Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua is a British professional boxer. He held the unified world heavyweight championship twice between 2016 and 2021. At regional level, he held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles from 2015 to 2016.
Francis Zavier Ngannou is a Cameroonian and French professional mixed martial artist and professional boxer who currently competes in the Heavyweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL), where he is the inaugural PFL Super Fights Heavyweight Champion. He previously competed in the heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) from 2015 to 2022, where he was the reigning UFC Heavyweight Champion at the time of his departure from the promotion. Known for his punching power, Ngannou was widely viewed as the most destructive pure puncher in the UFC's heavyweight division; he ended seven of his fourteen UFC fights by knockout before the two-minute mark in the first round. He is considered the lineal heavyweight champion in mixed martial arts.
Agit Kabayel is a German professional boxer. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the European title twice between 2017 and January 2024. As of May 2024, Kabayel is ranked as the world's third-best active heavyweight by BoxRec.
Daniel Dubois is a British professional boxer. He has held the International Boxing Federation (IBF) heavyweight title since June 2024. Previously, he held the World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight title from 2022 to 2023. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the British and Commonwealth titles from 2019 to 2020. As an amateur, he was a five-time national junior titlist and British champion.
Einar Otto Wallin is a Swedish professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA) Continental heavyweight title in 2017, the European Union heavyweight title in 2018, and the WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title in 2023. As of March 2024, Wallin is ranked #8 by the IBF.
Fabio Wardley is a British professional boxer. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the British title since 2022, and the Commonwealth title since 2023.
Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua is a proposed heavyweight professional boxing superfight contested between former WBC champion, Tyson Fury, and former WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO champion, Anthony Joshua. The fight has been dubbed as the "Biggest fight in British boxing history" and "The Battle of Britain". As of November 2024, no agreement has been reached which secured a fight between the two heavyweights.
Boxing in the 2020s is a list of notable fights and events in boxing during the decade from the year 2020 to 2029.
The Day of Reckoning, was the billing of a professional boxing event. While the fight card consists of eight fights, two heavyweight fights serve as co-main events. The first, Anthony Joshua vs. Otto Wallin was contested between English former WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and Swedish WBA inter-continental heavyweight champion Otto Wallin. The second, Deontay Wilder vs. Joseph Parker, was contested between American former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder and New Zealand IBF and WBO inter-continental heavyweight champion Joseph Parker.
Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, billed as Ring of Fire, was a heavyweight professional boxing match contested between WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship. It was scheduled to take place on 17 February 2024 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, then postponed due to a facial injury sustained by Fury in training. It was rescheduled the next day and took place on 18 May 2024 at the same venue. Usyk won by split decision.
Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou, billed as Knockout Chaos, was a heavyweight professional boxing match contested between 2-time former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.
