Ngannou Says He Will Knock Joshua Out Cold
Francis Ngannou has backed himself to knock out Anthony Joshua on March 8.
The former UFC Heavyweight Champion has his second boxing bout, with plenty of anticipation to see how he will perform. Ngannou troubled Tyson Fury on his boxing debut, sending him to the canvas in the third round with a sweeping left hook.
The MMA fighter continued to press the action but lost a split decision on the cards. Despite this, there was a perception that Ngannou had been robbed. He subsequently gained a top-ten WBC ranking and a bout with Joshua. He has warned the Brit to be ready for his power.
Ngannou On Joshua
“Yeah, I have a doubt about that [Joshua’s chin]. Tyson showed that he’s very resilient. I saw him come back from knockdowns like you wouldn’t believe. So I think he’s probably one of the most resistant [sic] person out there, and that’s not a disrespect to AJ. I don’t believe that AJ would take what Tyson did. [Not] As much as Tyson,” Ngannou said
Joshua has shown that he can be hurt after hitting the canvas against Wladimir Klitschko and Andy Ruiz Jr. In the Klitschko fight, Joshua managed to get up from the canvas to stop the Ukrainian in one of his biggest wins. But when it came to Ruiz, the Brit was stopped, losing his unified heavyweight titles.
But since that happened in 2019, Joshua is no longer the same fighter. He has found himself in a better position after teaming up with Ben Davidson and stopping Otto Wallin in his last bout in impressive fashion.
But Ngannou also has something to prove. He made it clear that he intends to conquer MMA and boxing, hoping to fight at the top level in both sports. That will require much sacrifice, given the two different skill sets. But Ngannou knows a win takes him one step closer to becoming boxing’s undisputed heavyweight champion. And PFL’s Donn Davis also expects Ngannou to fight in MMA.
Ngannou’s Future
“I’m 100 per cent confident that Francis fights MMA for PFL – not just once, but several times. And I’m confident that Francis will be our long-term business partner. I believe that he will ultimately prove himself to be the greatest athlete in combat sports – the Bo Jackson, if you will, of combat sports. I think Francis has an appetite to be a champion in boxing and to remain a champion in MMA. That’s so audacious that only someone of Francis’s character can set that goal, so I think you will see him continue to do both and continue to be successful at both,” Davis stated
With less than a month before the big bout, both boxers cannot afford to overlook each other. The winner will face Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk, who will fight for all the belts on May 18. Given that so much is on the line, they must leave it all in the ring. Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingnews.com.
