Anthony Joshua, a British-Nigerian heavyweight champion who has won two world titles, easily handled the challenge posed by Francis Ngannou, a Cameroonian mixed martial artist who lost their battle on Saturday in Saudi Arabia after suffering two knockdowns and a knockout.
Before scoring a devastating second-round knockout, Joshua, 34, floored the UFC champion in the first and early seconds of the second round. Ngannou seemed motionless when he hit the canvas, so medical personnel had to treat him.
Fans were made aware of the underlying peril and risk in combat sports, particularly for crossover or would-be crossover fighters, by the way Ngannou, 37, lost. Furthermore, it demonstrated Joshua’s unadulterated strength, which has allowed him to outclass opponents Tyson Fury, the WBC heavyweight champion, has faced.
Only in October did Ngannou, the former heavyweight champion of the UFC, cut and floored Fury in what was a breathtaking professional debut performance. Ngannou ultimately prevailed in a close decision on the scorecards.
Joshua, who had previously played down and rejected the idea of facing Ngannou in the first half of 2023, was forced to reconsider once Ngannou was recognized as a legitimate danger to the heavyweight class of boxing.
“I thought, ‘I want some of it,’ when I saw the bout between Tyson Fury and myself. Joshua declared following his decisive victory on Saturday, “[Ngannou] is a great champion and this doesn’t take anything away from his capabilities.”
The battle in Riyadh, which started at 3.40 am local time, most definitely did not cause the kind of upset that supporters had feared after seeing Ngannou frighteningly stop Fury in the third round in their October encounter.
Instead, it took just three minutes for Joshua, a fighter from Watford, to floor Ngannou. The MMA legend Ngannou survived round one after beating the referee’s count at eight, but round two would prove too tough for him.
Shortly after Ngannou recovered from a second knockdown punch, Joshua delivered an enormous right that caused the referee to immediately wave the fight off. Ngannou was rendered unconscious.
“I advised him to stick with boxing. He’s fought the best so far in his two battles.” Shortly after receiving medical attention, Joshua informed the Cameroonian.
https://x.com/anthonyjoshua/status/1766377604515324207?s=20
Joshua (28-3) wins for the fourth bout in 11 months, maintaining his hopes of winning a world title again following back-to-back defeats by Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine.
A fight between Anthony Joshua and the victor of Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, the undisputed heavyweight title bout scheduled for May 18 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is also being discussed and speculated about.
