Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou, billed as Battle of the Baddest, was a heavyweight professional crossover 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.^[2]

Background

Tyson Fury (left) and Francis Ngannou (right)

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.^[3] Ngannou later signed with the PFL, which would allow him to box.^[4]

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.^[5]

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".^[6][7]

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'.^{[8][9][10][11][12]} 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'.^[8][13][14] 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.^{[15][16][17][18][19][20]} 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.^[21][22][23] The only non-heavyweight fight on the card was Jack McGann vs Alcibiade Duran, which took place at super welterweight.^[24][25][26]

Fight card

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.

Broadcasting

See also

• Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor
• Riyadh Season

References

External links

• Official website