Nigerian-born British heavyweight boxer, Anthony Joshua has urged Francis Ngannou not to leave heavyweight boxing after destroying the Cameroonian-born cross-over boxer in two rounds.
Francis Ngannou raised the hope of most outsiders in heavyweight boxing after dropping WBC reigning champion Tyson Fury in the fourth round of his debut heavyweight boxing game in October 2023.
Though Ngannou lost the game in a split decision, most boxing enthusiasts believed the Cameroonian-born former UFC champion won it.
Hence, his unprecedented performance against Fury earned him a date with Anthony Joshua, a two-time former world champion.
In the first round of the bout, which took place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 8, 2024, Anthony Joshua knocked down Ngannou.
AJ followed that up in the second round as he knocked out the Cameroonian-born boxer twice and the former UCF icon couldn’t make the count in the third knockout.
“When I saw the fight with Fury, I thought damn, this guy could fight, I wanted a piece of that,” Anthony Joshua said after the game.
“He’s an inspiration, a great champion, and this shouldn’t take away from his capabilities. He can come again. I told him he shouldn’t leave boxing. He’s two fights in, and he’s fought the best.
“He can go a long way if he stays dedicated.”
The fact that Anthony Joshua knocked down Francis Ngannou three times in two rounds, AJ joked with reporters that he should have been given the WBC title that Fury held when Ngannou knocked the British down once in 2023.
The 34-year-old Nigerian-born boxer said, “Francis Ngannou beat the WBC heavyweight champion of the world – I should be the WBC heavyweight champion of the world. He’s a dreamer, a risk-taker, that story of his should not be clouded by tonight.”
Anthony Joshua knocked out Francis Ngannou.
The 37-year-old Francis Ngannou, who was iconic in mixed martial arts before he ventured into heavyweight boxing, where he suffered two defeats in two bouts against two of the best in the game, has apologized to his fans for his abysmal performance against Anthony Joshua.
After suffering three knockdowns in two rounds, Ngannou took to his X page to write: “Sorry guys, I let you all down 😔 Today was a bad day in the office, but tomorrow will be another day. Thank you all for the love ❤️”
With the domineering win over Francis Ngannou, AJ has now recorded 28 wins and just three defeats in his boxing career.
The eyes of his boxing promoter, Eddie Hearn, are now fixated on Joshua taking on the winner of Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk unified heavyweight bout, which will take place on May 18.
After Joshua knocked out Ngannou months after knocking out Otto Wallin who had given Fury a tough time in the past, Eddie Hearn declared that AJ can face any heavyweight boxer in the world.
“(Fury) struggled against Otto Wallin. AJ destroyed him, it was a mismatch,” Hearn told MMA Junkie. “He struggled against Francis Ngannou. AJ destroyed him, it was a mismatch. It’s not necessarily about comparing the two, but it’s nice.”
He added, “He can beat a lot of heavyweights, just not Anthony Joshua. Maybe he can beat Tyson Fury, but you can’t get knocked out like that too often. And that’s just a stark reminder of the difference between elite-level boxing and MMA.”
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