Francis Ngannou lost his debut boxing fight by the skin of his teeth to Tyson Fury on Sunday, October 29, 2023, in Saudi Arabia by split decision.

Sunday’s bout took a turn vastly different from what spectators had envisioned; performance-wise. Word on the street was that Tyson Fury would make minced meat of Ngannou, given the fact that he is the Undefeated Heavyweight Champion and Ngannou had not fought a professional boxing match prior to this clash.

Even though Tyson Fury won the bout, it was not a clean sweep like the Gypsy King had intended.

Fury was bloodied and forced to get off the mat. The highest point of the bout came in the third round when Ngannou launched a left-hand punch that saw Fury dazed and dropped to the canvas for a knockdown.

Ngannou took the loss in good spirits as he promised to work harder and come back with more experience.

“I’m feeling great, I’m feeling fantastic. It didn’t go my way. I might come up short today. I might be wounded but I’ll come back. I’m just a fighter. I’m ready to fight any time soon. We can run it back again and I’m sure I’m going to get better. This was my first boxing match, I’m not giving any excuse. I’m going to work harder with a little more experience and come back better. Now I know I can do this shit. Get ready. A wolf is in the house.”

In all of Ngannou’s good showing, the Gypsy King was able to survive the scare and win on scorecards of 94-95, 96-93, 95-94. Tyson Fury admitted to Ngannou being a great fighter and said he had given him one of his hardest fights in 10 years.

“No, that definitely wasn’t in the script,” Fury said. “He’s a hell of a fighter. Strong, good puncher, a better boxer than we ever thought he’d be. … He’s a very awkward man and a good puncher. I respect him a lot. Before the fight and afterwards. Listen, he was very awkward, he wasn’t coming forward. He was waiting to counter my punches. He’s given me one of my hardest fights in the past 10 years.”

Fury is expected to bag £50 million from Sunday’s exhibition bout, while Ngannou will earn £10 million.