Fayez Nureldeen / AFP
For his second professional English boxing fight, Francis Ngannou was knocked out faster and more technically by Englishman Anthony Joshua in a matter of minutes.
Boxing – This time, there was no photo. Although he dumped WBC world champion Tyson Fury in late October, MMA star Francis Ngannou was outclassed this time by another heavyweight, Anthony Joshua. During the fight, which took place on the night of Friday 8 to Saturday 9 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the Englishman needed just two rounds to knock out the Cameroonian giant.
Francis Ngannou, 37, a former heavyweight champion of the UFC, a major MMA league, was participating in only the second boxing fight of his career after his loss to Fury. At the age of 34 and after several setbacks in important fights, Joshua has 28 wins in 31 fights and is back in the hierarchy of the heavyweight category. He now hopes to face the winner of the clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, who face each other in May for the unified heavyweight title.
Joshua got ready
Despite his clear victory, Joshua had words of encouragement for Ngannou. ” You are an inspiration, don’t quit boxing. If you need anything, we’ll talk about it later », slipped to Britain at the end of the match. Before publishing a photo of the two men on social networks.
” When I saw his fight against Tyson Fury, I said to myself: ‘I want my part too’. He’s a great champion and that doesn’t take away from his abilities. He is in two fights and has faced the best. A way for Anthony Joshua, too, to lend credibility to his victory.
It must be said that unlike Tyson Fury, who looked unrecognizable and seemingly out of sorts, perhaps underestimating Ngannou during their October clash, Anthony Joshua was alert and did not take his opponent lightly.
And now, back to MMA?
Around 3:20 a.m. local time, the two men entered the stage to the voice of legendary boxing announcer Michael Buffer and under the gaze of a panel of boxing stars including Tyson Fury and Manny Pacquiao, and football like Ronaldo or coach Jose Mourinho.
And while we can expect an observational round at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, boxing’s new stronghold, the fight kicked off at high speed from the first exchanges.
Sent to the ground from the first round with a powerful straight right hit to the jaw, the Cameroonian was unable to do anything against the stronger and more technical Englishman. Things only got worse and then he suffered two more Knockdown (He returned to the mat) during the second round. With this shocking image where he collapsed with all his weight, led the referee to end the rivalry. Lying briefly on his back, he had to receive medical attention inside the ring before being taken back to his stool.
With this second foray into the ring, Ngannou followed his dream of becoming an English boxing champion. But now he is expected to return to the MMA cage with a fight scheduled for 2024 against Renan Ferreira, the champion of the PFL, the UFC’s competitive league.
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