To say the weekend’s big bout didn’t go as expected may well be the understatement of the year. 

The lineal heavyweight champion of the boxing world against the former UFC heavyweight champion of the world inside a boxing ring under boxing rules.

It looked like a mismatch on paper, but it turned out to be the polar opposite.

After climbing off the deck in round three after Francis Ngannou landed a punch that shocked the world, Tyson Fury used his ring craft to get through the remaining seven rounds and maintain his unbeaten record. 

It wasn’t, however, without controversy as many people believe Ngannou did enough to cause the biggest shock in boxing history. 

Below, you can read the thoughts of some high-profile figures from the world of boxing as they reacted to the fight.

We’ve scoured the internet for the main reactionary quotes from both the world of boxing and the world of MMA.

Mauricio Sulaiman - WBC President (Sky Sports)

"What I personally witnessed last night is a solid boxer, who deserves to be ranked by the WBC and I will make such recommendations to the ratings committee."

Carl Froch - Former world super-middleweight champion (Froch On Fighting)

“Ngannou boxed brilliantly, I thought he won by 2/3 rounds… Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk [is signed] - that's the reason I think Ngannou didn't get the nod. It's corruption at the highest level… Fury's talking about, 'I'm not bothered about my legacy.' It's a good job he's not, because at the minute his legacy's in tatters.”

Malik Scott - Former heavyweight contender & trainer to Deontay Wilder (Fight Hype)

“Ngannou, to me, he did so much better than so many people anticipated him to do that, but you got to keep things in perspective. In the second half of the fight, Fury’s jab took control of the fight. Ngannou couldn’t really do nothing with him, and he went back to his corner, and his trainer told him, ‘You can’t just let him jab you like that.’ I thought he did really well. I didn’t think he won the fight, but I thought he did very well.”

Chris Eubank Jr - Middleweight contender (Twitter)

“Watching from ringside I thought Ngannou won the fight. It was close but he was the aggressor, landed heavier shots & scored a knockdown. Fury deserved to lose after having so much trouble against a man who has never boxed before… too much time filming Netflix specials not enough time in the gym I’m guessing. Unlucky Francis”

Gareth Davies - Journalist (IFL TV)

“No, no, no, it wasn’t a robbery because it was a close fight. Fury won most of the rounds outside of the third, 10-8 for Ngannou, and the eighth was definitely Ngannou’s with that assault of eight or nine punches from the southpaw stance. That’s what was so impressive about him.”

Lennox Lewis - Former Undisputed Heavyweight champion of the world (TNT Sports)

“I thought Tyson won. He was throwing a lot of punches. He was getting that jab going, Francis Ngannou really surprised me – he showed really good poise and patience.”

Jeff Powell - Journalist (Mail Online)

“No dodgy decision here. Ringcraft, experience, a left and occasionally right jab and some meaty blows of his own which the powerful Ngannou took better than he did that peach of a left hook in the third round were the factors which kept the points ticking over. Also on those accursed punch stats which were in Fury's favour.”

Carl Frampton - Former two-weight world champion (TNT Sports)

“Francis came in to his first boxing match and was fighting the heavyweight champion of the world, how was he supposed to win? But in my eyes he won. He boxed beautifully at times.”

Daniel Cormier - Former two-weight UFC champion (Daniel Cormier YouTube)

“It was the most impressive performance I’ve ever seen for a guy outside of their realm of expertise”

Randy Couture - MMA Legend (Twitter)

“I believe we should all pause the egos and rhetoric, step back and just admire these Warriors and their amazing performances.”