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ESPN Boxing Insider- Mike Coppinger has covered boxing since 2010 with roles at USA Today, Ring Magazine and The Athletic before he joined ESPN in 2021. You can follow him on Twitter: @MikeCoppinger
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ESPN Staff Writer- Brett Okamoto has reported on mixed martial arts and boxing at ESPN since 2010. He has covered all of the biggest events in combat sports during that time, including in-depth interviews and features with names such as Dana White, Khabib Nurmagomedov, Conor McGregor, Nate Diaz, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Georges St-Pierre. He was also a producer on the 30 for 30 film: "Chuck and Tito," which looked back at the careers and rivalry of Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz. He lives in Las Vegas, and is an avid, below-average golfer in his spare time.
In a shocking turn of events, Tyson Fury survived a third-round knockdown to eke past Francis Ngannou via split decision on Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
One judge scored it 95-94 for the former UFC heavyweight champion but was overruled by tallies of 96-93 and 95-94 for Fury.
Fury's WBC heavyweight title was not on the line in the 10-round boxing match.
Ngannou (0-1 in boxing), 37, a native of Cameroon, was making his pro boxing debut in his first fight since January 2022, and Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs), 35, of Manchester, England, was installed as a 14-1 favorite to win the match and move onto an undisputed heavyweight championship fight versus Oleksandr Usyk.
That fight is already signed and planned for Dec. 23 in Riyadh, but it's unclear if the match will happen on that date.
"It will be our next fight, guaranteed," Fury said.
Relive all the action and how the fight played out.
