Live
Sela
Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou – Battle of the Baddest
year
2023
capabilities
Project Development
Design & Engineering
Asset Coordination
Fabrication
Integration
Machinery Automation
Show Control
Battle of the Baddest promised to be a knockout start to the Riyadh Season 2023. WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury would finally go toe-to-toe with former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in the eagerly anticipated crossover fight. TAIT helped build the suspense and spectacle with a dramatic Battle of the Baddest boxing ring reveal.
To kick off Riyadh Season, the annual sport and entertainment festival, we worked with Saudi entertainment company Sela to elevate the showdown between the two fighting titans at Battle of the Baddest Riyadh. Before the boxers started their ring walk into the stadium, a stage for a musical performance was rolled back to make way for the 10m x 10m boxing ring, lifted from a 6m deep concrete pit.
We engineered the bespoke structure and lifting mechanics for the Fury vs Ngannou fight, powered by synchronized Nav Hoists operating in pairs to allow redundancy in the high-stakes live broadcast. All motion was controlled via the TAIT Navigator Automation Platform and was timed to align with other production elements including lighting, lasers, audio, and video.
Our team in Wakefield, UK managed to turn around a design that could hold 44 tons in just five days. This allowed for fabrication and on-site integration in time for the live broadcast of the Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou showdown. With everything in place, our crew of 10 ensured the ring reveal went flawlessly. It was a fitting start to an epic bout that will be remembered for years to come, thanks to Fury being knocked down in the third round and a controversial decision on points – all captured in a major Netflix documentary.
Credits
Production
Riyadh Season
Production
Sela
Production
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