Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou live results and analysis

The fight is finally here. WBC and lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury faces former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (2 p.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV).

The fight will take place in a boxing ring over 10 rounds, but Fury’s belt will not be on the line.

Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs), 35, of Manchester, England, defeated Dillian Whyte by sixth-round TKO in 2022 and eight months later stopped Derek Chisora ​​in the 10th round. Fury was expected to face unified champion Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship, but talks to finalize the fight ended in March.

“He’s a big, strong guy,” Fury said at a news conference Thursday. “Obviously he has a good punch. But so do I. I’m a big, strong guy. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be the heavyweight champion of the world. But I believe there are levels to the game .And he’s going to find out.my level Saturday night….I have no doubt in my mind that I’m going to eliminate him.

Ngannou, 37, of Cameroon, had notable UFC victories against Stipe Miocic at UFC 260 in March 2021, and against Ciryl Gane at UFC 270 in January 2022. Ngannou left the UFC a year later and signed a contract with the PFL which allowed him to box.

“This camp has been different from my previous camps. It’s a different experience, a different beast. I was aware that there was a mountain in front of me, that’s why we started the camp much earlier. And It went well, but having someone like Mike Tyson around and my trainer Dewey Cooper was very helpful going into this fight.

“Tyson Fury is definitely the best in boxing, but that will end Saturday night.”

Stay here for fight recaps, live updates and round-by-round analysis from Mike Coppinger and Brett Okamoto.