I thought the fight was a sideshow with the lineal heavyweight champion in a clear money grab against someone who had never boxed before before a difficult title unification against the man that holds the other three titles Oleksandr Usyk.
I could not have been more wrong and while there may be reasons for Ngannou doing better than expected, it would be unfair to avoid giving him credit for an incredible effort considering his lack of experience.
In all honesty, it was far from a titanic war with both men exchanging bombs through the non-title ten rounder but it had enough action to be entertaining and provided one memory that should stand the test of time in both boxing history and those who enjoy MMA- the third round knockdown of Fury with the above photo that immediately went viral.
The left hook that floored Fury didn't appear to seriously hurt him, and he was likely stung much worse against Deontay Wilder but that knockdown swung the eventual narrative that Ngannou was robbed.
I thought Fury controlled the middle rounds strongly and although Ngannou had his moments, I thought Fury did enough to edge the decision by 95-94 (6-4 in rounds minus the knockdown) on my card with the official scores reading 96-93 and 95-94 for Fury overruling the opposing judges 95-94 for Ngannou.
Ngannou's performance cannot be understated and while Fury looked a little out of shape and may not have taken him seriously enough to prepare well, Fury outlanded Ngannou and more often than not, handled him when the fight was at a distance.
I can understand those who don't know boxing going overboard for the underdog and thinking Ngannou won but the 95-94 card for him is about as far as you can go reasonably which would be 5-5 in rounds with the knockdown making the difference.
As for the legacy of Tyson Fury, I think this is a small stain to struggle to this degree with a basic novice, no different than it would be for Ngannou to be taken the distance by Fury in an MMA cage and win a close fight.
It's easy to say now but I've always found the talk of Tyson Fury as an all-time great to be premature and questionable to start with.
He did dominate Deontay Wilder with two wins and a draw that he deserved in their three-fight series but if you question Wilder as a great (certainly a champion and huge puncher but not great) Fury's only win of note historically is his dull decision win over the great but past his prime Wladimir Klitschko.
Fury has only himself to blame for his lack of sharpness as it's been Fury who dropped out of fights and spent more time announcing demands from opponents than training.
Now no matter if he beats Oleksandr Usyk or not (and he better be in shape for that fight), Fury will be remembered by the casual sports fan for being knocked down by a novice than defeating an excellent champion such as Usyk.
And it's all his doing.
Meanwhile, in Cancun Mexico, an excellent fight was waged as WBC junior lightweight champion O'Shaquie Foster charged from behind to salvage his title with a final-round stoppage over Rocky Hernandez.
Hernandez won most of the early rounds as he was too busy for Foster, who was successful boxing but wasn't throwing enough punches to win many of those rounds.
After ten rounds, Hernandez led on the scorecards, and with Foster's lack of power over his career, Hernandez looked to be six minutes away from a world title.
The stage was set for the round of the year with Foster seeking a knockout, Foster battered Hernandez around the ring for most of the round with the challenger appearing to be out on his feet and just as it seemed the fight needed to be stopped, Hernandez fired back and hurt Foster, driving him backward.
Both fighters exchanged blows late in the round but Hernandez appeared much worse for wear entering the final round.
Hernandez led on two of the three cards and if he could last the final round, he was likely to be crowned champion.
Foster had other ideas as he dropped Hernandez early in round twelve and again punished him badly with Hernandez refusing to grab and hold to kill the clock.
Hernandez hit the floor again and barely beat the count before being given one more chance to survive but was ripped with punches from Foster and the fight was ended with only twenty-two seconds remaining.
The stoppage was a good one and Hernandez was given every chance to try to make it to the final bell, so no complaints on that part.
One still has to feel bad for Hernandez to come so close to victory but admire Foster for the fortitude to win a fight he was losing in a way that was not his forte.
Foster appears likely to fight a unification match next as the Matchroom fighter will face the winner of next Saturday's IBF title fight pairing champion Joe Cordina and challenger Edward Vazquez, both of whom are signed with Matchroom.
Boxing Challenge
Ramon Malpica: 148 Pts (1)
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