SportsRatings: Boxing/MMA

Fury-Ngannou post-mortem: If you dismissed it, you missed it; the fight was great

Despite all the complaining about Fury vs. Ngannou it turned out to be a great fight, with a deservedly close decision that went pretty much exactly as I scored it: 95-94 for Fury with a super-close last round that was probably the most boring round of the fight, unfortunately.

But anyone who dismissed the fight as a "money fight" or compared it to a Jake Paul fight missed a very skilled bout. Ngannou surprised everyone, Fury and myself included, with his skill at traditional boxing. Coming from MMA—a sport whose boxing cred isn't exactly very high—most thought he had only a puncher's chance. And it's true, the cards were only as close as they were because of a 3rd round knockdown by Ngannou. But for the entire fight, he showed skill and patience boxing like a boxer, not an MMA star.

The dumbest thing people were saying was that Ngannou would be "slow." Anyone who has seen him fight MMA knows he is not slow at all, his hand speed is fantastic and his defensive reactions are super-fast, especially for his size. It seems that slow-speed pad work shown in training videos was the point of reference for his alleged "slowness."

People were also very wrong in assuming Fury would knock out Ngannou, without knowing anything about his MMA career. Ngannou always had a solid chin, and a great ability to dodge punches. His weakness in MMA was grappling, not getting hit. The main real weakness for Ngannou was his gas tank, as most of his fights are fairly short and he's pretty over-muscled. In the fight there were times he slowed down, but he was able to recover and looked sharp in the later rounds as adrenaline probably took over by then.

And from all corners, Fury was greatly overestimated as a boxer. For some reason, this same guy who was ridiculed for his lack of skill 10 years ago is suddenly the next Muhammad Ali in popular estimation. Let's face it, Fury isn't an all-time great technician. He may be an all-time great, but it's the fact that he's so skilled for his giant size, not that he has half the talent of a Muhammad Ali or even an Oleksander Usyk.

People also conveniently forgot that Fury has a very questionable chin. The recovery from Wilder's punches are the main point of reference, as he's the only one to not succumb to a Wilder KO. But he's been knocked down or stunned by numerous fighters, even former cruiserweight Steve Cunningham. It wasn't hard to imagine Ngannou doing the same.

And about Wilder: wasn't everyone in agreement after the first Fury fight that, and I paraphrase: Wilder has no boxing skill at all, he's just a power puncher, and he can't do anything other than land the big right hand. With that information, shouldn't Ngannou be able to fight Tyson Fury to a draw as well?

All of this ended up being true. But in no way did I expect a tight decision in this fight. I figured Fury would have the most trouble in the first three rounds when Ngannou was fresh and fast with his looping punches (this came true). Then in the next three rounds Fury would start to take control (also happened). Then over the last four rounds, Fury would make Ngannou look like a punching bag as Ngannou tired and was unable to muster much offense. The last part didn't happen, as Ngannou kept his form, didn't tire much, and had some good rounds that put the outcome in doubt.

The big difference was Ngannou's boxing skill. That's how he avoided fading down the stretch and kept himself in the fight. Fury was unable to use his skill to just take over the fight because Ngannou showed good defensive skills. And enough offensive skill—other than the big punch threat—to keep Fury from getting in rhythm. 

It's too bad Ngannou didn't get the split draw. As it is, in our system, Ngannou will still be a nobody with no wins or draws against registered fighters. It's as if this fight never happened. Fury will remain at #1 and won't lose any points.

If Ngannou had gotten the draw, Fury would have remained #1 but lost about half his advantage over #2 Usyk, and Ngannou would have made his debut at #3 at 0-0-1, well behind Usyk but ahead of everyone else including Anthony Joshua (#6) and Deontay Wilder (#10).

So it looks like the boxing world owes Francis Ngannou an apology—as does the MMA world—for thinking this fight would be a joke, a sure KO loss for Ngannou.

But I suspect the new narrative will be that Fury "sucks" because he couldn't dominate a guy with a 0-0 record. That's the internet for ya.

Fury-Ngannou fight and all undercard round-by-round scoring

The Tyson Fury / Francis Ngannou fight has been controversial for many reasons, but the only real concern is whether it's a "real fight" or not. The participants have been clear from the start that it is not an "exhibition," that it would count on their records, and there is no "no knock-down rule" whatever the hell that "rule" would mean in the first place (gravity doesn't exist?).

But some continued to insist the fight wasn't "real" and was unsanctioned so it wouldn't mean anything—in other words, if Francis Ngannou somehow won, he would not be champion in any way, and in fact would not have beaten Tyson Fury. It looked as though Boxrec.com wouldn't list the fight in its database.

Having a full slate of solid heavyweight bouts on the undercard helped a lot in terms of relevance. And with the sanctioning of the entire card under the BBBofC, and now being listed in Boxrec, hopefully the reality of the card and its headliner are no longer questioned. Here is the card and rankings on the SportsRatings Heavyweight Top 100:

#1 Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou

#13 Fabio Wardley vs #28 David Adeleye

#16 Joseph Parker vs #71 Simon Kean

#14 Martin Bakole vs #76 Carlos Takam

#52 Arslanbek Makhmudov vs #41 Junior Anthony Wright

That said, if Fury beats Ngannou as expected, he won't gain any points on SportsRatings for beating a 0-0 fighter. Only if Ngannou wins will the bout affect our ratings. The other fights, however, have all sorts of implications for the heavyweight division. 

The card starts at 2pm eastern time and the fights are available on PPV via ESPN+. Check back here for round-by-round scoring assuming my laptop (and hotel internet) are trustworthy.

 

Round-by-round scoring below:

#1 Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou

1. Fury attacks hard early, Ngannou swings for the fences too. Big right counter from Fury. Good left from Ngannou, almost connects with a big right but Fury backs up, clinches when Ngannou comes in. Fury keeping distance and jabbing. Ngannou using decent defense and being patient. Ngannou going to the body, hits the belt. Big right from Fury, Ngannou takes it well. Hard jab from Fury. Good first round for both fighters. Fury 10-9.
2. Ngannou walking forward, Fury feigning a lot, Ngannou rushes in but Fury gets away. Left hand from Ngannou, Fury clinches but Ngannou gets a good uppercut. Fury goes southpaw for a while, so does Ngannou. Fury rushes in clinching, avoids a big punch. Fury keeps running in and clinching low, that was probably Ngannou's round. 10-9; 19-19
3. Fury throwing fewer jabs and doing more feigns, giving Ngannou time to think and Ngannou connects with a big left, but Fury takes it well. Fury's jabs are short right now, he rushes in again and clinches. Good one two from Fury, but he tries another one and Ngannou counters with a huge left and Fury GOES DOWN!! He looks confused with 20 seconds left. He gets up and looks ok but the fight is changed now. Ngannou 10-8; 29-27
4. Another punch from Ngannou. Fury whiffs on a big shot. Body shots from Fury, Ngannou whiffs on huge punch. Fury is serious now, throwing hard leather but Ngannou is taking it well. They throw at the same time and Fury gets the best of it. Fury's jab is working better too. Ngannou is southpaw stance. Fury came back well by the end, Fury 10-9; Ngannou 38-37
5. Big shot from Ngannou and Fury returns one. Ngannou fires back after Fury's jab. The two are trading evenly right now in the first half. Uppercut from Fury just misses. One-two from Fury hits solid, and a good jab. Jab from Fury, return miss from Ngannou. Another good round for Fury 10-9; 47-47.
6. Now we start to see if Ngannou tires, as most of his MMA fights are less than 10 minutes total. Fury's jab is working well as Ngannou has slowed just a bit. Good combo by Ngannou but Fury dodges most, also Ngannou just misses on two winging lefts, now he charges in and pins Fury against the ropes. Ngannou connects with a short right but almost everything else is missing. Now he's looking a lot slower, his power may be fading. No action in the last 30 seconds. Fury 10-9; 57-56
7. Ngannou walking down Fury, throws a hard right that connects. Another solid left from southpaw stance from Ngannou. He throws some uppercuts in the clinch. Fury comes in and connects, does so again and Ngannou wrestles him down to the canvas in the clinch. Pretty even round so far, Ngannou had the better moments at the start. Ngannou 10-9; 66-66
8. Fury lands with a right, then they clinch. Big left from Ngannou as the two are fighting in close as they lunge in. Good uppercut work from Fury. Ngannou isn't much slower than he was at the start. Fury gets in another uppercut and avoids some big shots but Ngannou gets some big shots in. Huge battle on the inside and Ngannou getting the best of it. Fury trying to clinch and hold on, he looks more tired than Ngannou. Ngannou 10-9; 76-75.
9. Fury in some trouble here for a shocking decision loss. Looks like an elbow from Ngannou (Fury connected one earlier). Jabs from Fury. Solid right from Fury too. Big break in action in middle of round. Fury fighting at distance, Ngannou not getting much going. Fury 10-9; 85-85
10. Round ten with my score tied. Faking jabs to start from both fighters. Jab from Fury finally for real. No one is really doing enough to win the round with just over a minute left. Jab from Fury and return from Ngannou. One minute left. Ngannou tries a jumping punch (sort of a Superman punch) but misses. 10 seconds left and no one is trying too hard, but Fury does get in a hook near the end. If we had to score this very close round it would go to Fury, not that he really deserves it as the champ. But we can't call a 10-10 in the final round and Ngannou did almost nothing, so it's Fury 10-9; 95-94

With the last round a tossup, it could go either way and possibly be a draw, but most likely a majority decision for Fury.

Scorecards: Ngannou 95-94, Fury 96-93, Fury 95-94. Fury by split decision

A pretty amazing fight—I was hoping for a draw that would give Ngannou the credit in our system that he deserves. This makes me wish he had taken some other fights first to build up his boxing bona fides.

 #14 Martin Bakole vs #76 Carlos Takam

Bakole defeated Takam in the 4th round by TKO. The fight was held before 2pm (EST), missed it while watching football, oh well. Seems the PPV started after the first 2 fights, including the first one I wanted to see. A good win for Bakole but completely expected, as Takam has been more of a high-level gatekeeper at age 42.

Bakole will probably move up a spot to #13 on the SportsRatings Heavyweight Top 100. Takam will just barely hang on in the top 100.

 #52 Arslanbek Makhmudov vs #41 Junior Anthony Wright

The undefeated Makhmudov (Mak) hasn't had an important fight in some time so Junior Anthony Wright (Jr) is actually ranked higher in our ratings. That will probably change as Mak is a heavy favorite in this one.

1. Mak comes out swinging, JrR responds in turn! Good action early. Mak backs off but a counter shot and followup (two actually) floors Jr and he barely beats the count. They continue to swing in a phone booth and another shot from Mak stuns Wright and the ref stops it with Wright still standing in the middle of the ring. Round one TKO for Makhmudov

Wright was game but probably foolish for continuing his in-your-face bravery following the knockdown.

The win should elevate Makhmudov into the lower reaches of the top 25, while Wright will fall to around #75.

 #16 Joseph Parker vs #71 Simon Kean

Parker has only lost to Anthony Joshua, Dillian Whyte, and Joe Joyce. Kean has a loss to Dillon Carmen and hasn't faced anyone of Parker's level.

1. Parker lands a good left early, Kean turned around and hits back of head. Good jabs from Kean. Parker counter punching, going for the body as Kean's guard is pretty high. Good right hand from Kean though. Tied up again awkwardly, almost clash of heads there. Body shot from Parker. His own guard is pretty low. Uppercut from Kean connects, good left hook too. Really tight round by the end. Punting, 10-10.
2. Kean moving forward a bit more early. Parker lunges in for a combo. Good jab from Parker, then good left hook and he ducks out of the way. Good combo, then triple jab from Parker. First half of round is all Parker, another jab.  And a really good combo. A few good jabs from Kean are his first offense. Little action later in the round, but it was all Parker earlier. Parker 10-9, Parker 20-19.
3. Parker jabs from the outside, good right from Kean. Strong right from Parker then he whiffs on a big shot. Lots of feigning in fighting range before one fighter acts, usually Parker. Big uppercut from Parker, going for the kill, another uppercut puts Kean down for the full count! Parker KO 3 Kean

Parker had a good workout in this fight, Kean presented some problems but Kean was clearly not in Parker's class. Parker will move up just a bit, back into the top 15 where he's spent a lot of his career. Kean will stay in the top 100 at 5-2 in rated fights and now 23-2-0 overall.

 #13 Fabio Wardley vs #28 David Adeleye

Two undefeated prospects fight for the British boxing title. Wardley is 16-0-0 with 15 KOs, while Adeleye is 12-0-0 with 11 KOs. In fights rated significant by SportsRatings Wardley is 5-0 with wins over wins over Eric Molina, Nick Webb, Chris Healey, Nathan Gorman, and Michael Coffie. Adaleye is 3-0 with wins over Danny Whitaker, Kamil Sokolowski, and Chris Healey. So no real big names but almost all of them are still in the top 200.

1. Jumping jab from Adeleye connects early. Both with wide stances facing off. A lot of feeling out, slow-motion so far. Good countershot from Adeleye misses by a hair. Wardley stalking him down a bit now, backed him against the ropes, but isn't pulling the trigger a lot. Combos miss from both fighters. Left hook by Adeleye surprises Wardley. Wardley uncorks at the very end but doesn't do much, nor did Adeleye. Yes another punt, 10-10
2. Hopefully more pulling the trigger on both sides this round. Jab by Adeleye, wrestling in the clinch. Adeley stalking. Fast jab by Adeleye, who looks a bit tired already backing up. Wardley frustrated by Adeleye's elbow in the clinch. Fighters trade shots, then solid shot by Wardley near the end. Not much else. Wardley 10-9, 20-19.
3. Lots more action early this round as both are swinging and clinching. Adeleye holding on as Wardley attacks, ref warns Adeleye. Wardley goes to body, Adeleye scores with a right hook. Wardley the agressor, moving forward. Adeleye punches Wardley coming off the clinch when the ref didn't divide them. Wardley connects with a solid right. But Adeleye counters well backing up. Close round, really, but Wardley is commanding the ring for sure. Wardley 10-9, 30-28.
4. Wardley comes up swinging, Adeleye pushes forward but gets counterpunched. 2nd attempt was better. Action has slowed down already one minute in. Adeleye rushes in again, Wardley clinches. Good combo from Wardley before Adeleye clinches. Wardley comes in again, Adeleye definitely on the defensive in the latter part of the round. Two huge jabs from Wardley, but a robe-bound Adeleye fires back. Wardley a solid body shot near the end. Wardley 10-9, 40-37.
5. Adeleye isn't doing bad but needs to connect with a solid punch to change the dynamic of being stalked down. He stands his ground and trades early before Wardley gets a few jabs in. Ref cautions both fighters for something. Wardley scores with a right hand, and 2 jabs. Adeleye comes alive but Wardley covers up well. Good jab from Adeleye. And another. A third, but Wardley is undeterred. Left hook from Adeley, big scrumm near the end of the round. Adeley showing he sisn't going away, but Wardley connects at the end. Even round by the end. 10-10; Wardley 50-47
6. Huge shot early by Adeleye, and more in the clinch, including perhaps an elbow to the chin and a punch behind the head. Warley looks angry, as he has most of the fight. Rest of round has been much less interesting with 1 minute to go. Lunging jab and headlock from Adeley. Wardley comes back with combination. Good work at the end by Wardley; Adeley started strong in the first 20 seconds but that's all he did. Wardley 10-9; 60-56.
7. Wardley working the jab again in round seven. Double jab scores again. Body shot for variety. Wardley dodges a counterpunch. Right and left hooks score for Wardley and Adeleye goes down! Barely beats the count. Wardley looking for the finish and he's floundering around the ropes and the ref stops the fight! TKO 7 Fabio Wardley

Wardley was cruising toward a wide decision but things suddenly turned around when the unique combo he threw caught Adeleye by surprise. With the win Wardley will move very close to the top ten, but probably only get to around #12. Adeleye will fall out of the top 50, probably near #75-ish. He shoved the ref (and sort of punched him lightly too) which might result in a suspension apart from that, but it didn't look all that threatening.

UFC dumps USADA, picks up Drug Free Sport International, who has kept the NFL completely drug-free (/s)

Since the UFC dropped USADA (probably because of Conor McGregor, though they deny it of course), the question was: are they going to go back to just having commissions do testing? Or go with another agency.

Today we found out that the UFC is going to use Drug Free Sport International to do their testing, noting that DFSI has handled drug testing for the NFL, MLB, and NBA. 

That's hardly a stirring endorsement when you think about how roided players are in the NFL, have been in the NBA, and still are in MLB.

Clearly the UFC regretted hiring USADA, who actually tries to find drug users and punish them. It was a strange move for the UFC to go from very lax testing (just administered by the state athletic commissions) and allowing Therapeutic Use Exemptions for TRT, to a zero-tolerance organization like USADA.

The Jon Jones debacle was the first sign the partnership was running out of steam. After a few high-profile (and many low-profile) fighters had popped, Jones popped again for "pulsing" metabolites of oral turinabol. USADA relented on this one and Jeff Nowitsky, UFC's liaison with USADA, bent over backwards to explain why this wasn't a problem. For the first time USADA let it's zero-tolerance down.

The Conor McGregor story was the last straw. McGregor wanted to fight without entering the program fully; he felt he needed just two positive tests—which he could get if he knew when they were coming, like old-school Athletic Commission testing. But USADA stood firm that he needed six months of random testing. By looking at McGregor's physique in his time off from the sport, six months seems like a minimum.

USADA says that was the breaking point, while the UFC has angrily denied that. But it's hard to imagine what the problem was if not that. Other than perhaps, the UFC realized they made a mistake. Why go with an organization that's actually going to interfere, potentially, with your business? And given that many fighters use PEDs and USADA's methods are good at catching them, that was bound to happen a lot.

DFSI, on the other hand, is a very League-friendly testing agency. NFL players still pop once in a while, though it's hard to imagine how. Carelessness? Forgetting when their scheduled test is? There is allegedly some random testing done in the NFL, but some players weren't selected for years and if a player is actually randomly tested multiple times, it makes the news. They still catch more than 10 players per year, which is amazing. 

Same story with the NBA, which has a real PED problem obviously, and MLB, which people seem to think has "cleaned itself up" since the late-90s era of Sosa and McGuire and early 2000s with Barry Bonds and Alex Hernandez. But has it? There are home run hitters much bigger than McGuire around and no one suspects anything. Because apparently baseball "cleaned itself up."

So what we'll get with DFSI is a more Dana White-friendly testing regimen. Conor McGregor will fight in UFC 300, hell maybe Brock Lesnar will be back. Fighters who got smaller during USADA will get bigger again. It won't go back to the old days of just commission testing, but it won't be like it was during USADA.

A lot of people think this is better. Many fans hated USADA for making fighters visibly smaller, more prone to getting tired during fights, etc. Others think it's better to have a level playing field for those who can achieve without the use of PEDs, and that it's better to not have the guy across from you in the Octagon on a roid rage.