Anthony Joshua knocked out Francis Ngannou in their highly anticipated heavyweight fight.
Anthony Joshua delivers devastating blow as he brutally knocks out Francis Ngannou in second round
It was over before it really began in Saudi Arabia as Anthony Joshua pummeled his way past Francis Ngannou with a devastating knockout blow in the second round.
It was a much-needed victory for the 34-year-old Briton who has struggled to find his best boxing over the last few years. But this showing looked like the Joshua of old as he brutally eased past his opponent in Riyadh.Coming into the fight, there was lots of excitement surrounding Ngannou in what was just his second ever professional boxing bout.
In his first professional fight, dubbed the ‘Battle of the Baddest,’ against Tyson Fury, Ngannou put on a good show with onlookers surprised by how quickly he adapted to life as a boxer and by how comfortable he looked against someone regarded as one of the finest heavyweights of all time.This time around, however, it was very different.
Joshua, 34, floored the former UFC champion in the first round and early in the second.A dazed Ngannou rose to his feet in Riyadh but was stunned by an explosive and formidable right moments later as the referee halted the contest.
The 37-year-old appeared to be out before he even hit the canvas and required medical treatment.”I’m going back to my cage and when they let me out, I’ll fight again,” Joshua said, as WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury watched on from ringside.Fury made tough work of Ngannou in October when he was dropped by the boxing debutant before claiming a narrow points win.
“When I saw the fight with Tyson Fury I thought ‘I want some of that’. [Ngannou] is a great champion and this doesn’t take anything away from his capabilities,” said Joshua.”I told him not to leave boxing. He’s two fights in and he’s fought the best.”Victory is two-time world champion Joshua’s fourth in 11 months, and keeps alive his ambition of recapturing a world title.
Eddie Hearn called for Joshua, who he has promoted throughout the heavyweight’s pro career, to face the winner of Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.The pair will fight to become the undisputed heavyweight champion in May, with a rematch later in the year.”In five years I won’t be fighting,” Joshua added. “Eddie Hearn and my team will shape my future.”
A well-schooled amateur boasting Olympic gold and a two-time world champion with wins against some of the best in the division, Joshua’s experience prevails in the early hours in Riyadh.
The razzmatazz of Saudi boxing was on show, albeit still under the backdrop of critics claiming the Kingdom is using high-profile sporting events to ‘sports wash’ away its human rights records.
While it was not the star studded affair seen in past event in the region, former champions Amir Khan and Manny Pacquiao rubbed shoulders with the likes of football manager Jose Mourinho and Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldo.The card was billed as ‘knockout chaos’ but the Saudi crowd – as they usually do – behaved in a very quiet and orderly manner.
The pressure was on Joshua to deliver a message to rival Fury. A fighter who has faced an intense level of scrutiny in recent years, Joshua acknowledged the impact of trainer Ben Davison.Davison was in Joshua’s corner for the second time, having also overseen December’s dominant win over Otto Wallin.”I didn’t want to disrespect Ngannou but he’s not been hit by someone like AJ before,” Davison told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I’ll let people judge whether he is improving. The only way to find out who is the best is to get the winner of Fury and Usyk. That’s the only thing that makes sense.”Whether Ngannou listens to Joshua’s advice and returns to the sport anytime soon awaits to be soon, but the ‘Predator’ is a proven winner – whether it be in life, the UFC octagon or a boxing ring.
His journey has taken him from a 12-year-old working in sand quarry in Cameroon to living on the streets of Paris, before becoming UFC champion.Although his childhood dream of becoming a boxing world champion may never become reality, Ngannou is set to return to MMA later this year with the PFL in search of his next prey.
