Joshua Drops Ngannou Three Times In A Brutal Second-Round KO
Anthony Joshua dropped Francis Ngannou three times before stopping him in the second round.
Ngannou arrived into the fight with plenty of confidence following his impressive performance against Tyson Fury. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion lost a split decision, with some believing he had done enough to win. He dropped Fury in the third round but could not sustain the pressure to win. But when it came to taking on Joshua, it was a completely different story.
In the opening round, Joshua landed a strong right hand to send Ngannou to the canvas. While Ngannou beat the count, it was clear he had been shaken up early on. The next round was the same story. Joshua’s right hand once again connected, sending Ngannou to the floor. Ngannou got up, but the writing was clearly on the wall. Joshua, keen to finish the fight, connected with another right hand. Ngannou’s legs buckled, and the referee stopped the fight immediately.
Joshua vs Ngannou
“You have to remember, [Ngannou’s] two fights in. He’s fought the best. He’s keen to go a long way if he stays dedicated about this. It only takes one shot in the heavyweight division. If that was me (who was knocked out), you would all be saying that I should retire. For me, I don’t know if I’m coming into my peak. I’m just pushing day-by-day. Wherever it will take me, I don’t know.
“I’m just here, making the most of it. Imagine in five years, I’m not going to be fighting anymore. It’s all going to be said and done. It’s just going to be a memory and I’m trying to make the most of it. I’m just here to fight. I want to go back to my cage and lock myself away. Then I’m gonna be out when it’s time to fight again. Whatever they (Matchroom Boxing, 258 MGT and Davison) want me to do, I’m down for it,” Joshua said
“That was a clean one. In fact, I didn’t feel the punch. That’s what the knockout is about. I don’t feel any pain. That’s how I know I was knocked out. It was quite special, because it stopped me. [And] It wasn’t my day, and he’s just way better than me today.
“It sucks, but it’s the game, we all know that. It’s the game. As for right now, I think I’m going to go home, get some rest, process what just happened. This has been a hell of a day, since this morning. I’ll process it and see what is the next step. But maybe MMA, but you can be sure that I’m not done here [in boxing]. Absolutely not. I’m not done,” Ngannou stated
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Full Card
Anthony Joshua def. Francis Ngannou via a second-round knockout
Joseph Parker def. Zhilei Zhang (c) via a majority decision (113-113, 114-112, 115-111)
Rey Vargas (c) vs. Nick Ball ends in a split draw (114-112, 110-115, 113-113)
Israil Madrimov (c) def. Magomed Kubranov via z fifth-round TKO
Mark Chamberlain def. Gavin Gwynne via a fourth-round TKO
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