However, in a surprising turn of events, Ngannou managed to knock Fury down in the third round and had the undefeated British fighter in trouble in the eighth round. Despite these moments, Fury was declared the winner by the judges due to his performance in several quieter rounds and his slight advantage in a couple of closely contested sessions.
The judges' scorecards reflected the split-decision outcome, with the first scorecard favoring Ngannou at 95-94, while the other two scored it 96-93 and 95-94 in Fury's favor. This victory for Fury came as a relief, as a loss would have been compared to Mike Tyson's famous defeat to Buster Douglas.
Before the main event, there was a significant level of anticipation about how Ngannou would perform in the opening round and how aggressively Fury would approach the fight, especially with an upcoming bout against the three-belt holder, Oleksandr Usyk, on the horizon.
However, all expectations were shattered when Ngannou stunned the world by landing a powerful left hand in the third round, sending Fury to the canvas. Ngannou also claimed the fourth round, and although Fury managed to secure the fifth and sixth, his overall performance had noticeably declined since his victory over Otto Wallin in September 2019.
The seventh round was open to interpretation, but Ngannou had Fury on the ropes and in trouble in the eighth, making it seem like a knockout was the only way for Fury to win. Rounds nine and ten saw minimal action, which seemed to work in Fury's favor as he maintained a more proactive approach with jabs, while Ngannou appeared content to wait for his opponent to make the first move.
When the final bell rang, Ngannou celebrated, whether it was a moral victory or in anticipation of a favorable decision. However, it was Fury who managed to avoid the humiliation of defeat, even though his standing in the sport had considerably diminished in the lead-up to his anticipated showdown with Usyk, a fight that realistically looked set to be postponed until 2024.
