The former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou has stepped up the mind games ahead of his March 8th showdown against Anthony Joshua.
The Cameroonian said in the face-off interview that he is confident, that if he catches Anthony Joshua with a similar blow to the one he put Tyson Fury down with, he would claim a shock win.
“Yeah, I have a doubt about that,” when asked if the Brit could take the same punch. “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 people out there, and that’s not a disrespect to AJ.” He added, “Even going into the fight, I knew that even if I knocked him down, I would not get excited. That would not mean anything because he always comes back.”
Francis Ngannou Will Not Be Taken Lightly
Joshua insisted that Ngannou’s knockdown may not have been that much of a surprise. Joshua bit back, “Who hasn’t knocked Tyson down? So many people have knocked Tyson down.” AJ did insist he wouldn’t take Ngannou lightly though, and was impressed with what he saw from the mixed martial artist on his professional boxing debut.
“No, not at all” he responded, when asked if he was surprised with his opponent’s display. “I researched Ngannou and I’ve watched Tyson Fury box a number of times. People claim he’s the greatest of many, many generations, but I think if I box Tyson Fury, a lot of similarities will happen in the fight. So I’m not surprised at all. In terms of his style, who Fury is. It’s just a boxing match. Well done to both of them, they put on an entertaining fight. But that’s in the past now.”
Francis Ngannou Has ‘Improved’ Warns Manager
Ngannou’s manager has issued a stern warning to Anthony Joshua. Cooper told Joshua of Ngannou’s improvements since the Tyson Fury fight. “I know what the boxing public is saying. He caught Tyson Fury off guard. There was no way to study him. Anthony Joshua will be prepared for him.” Cooper told talkSPORT.com.
“The one component they are forgetting is that this was Francis Ngannou’s first boxing fight. In his first fight, he fought a 10-round fight against the best heavyweight in the world. Don’t you think his learning curve from his first fight to his second 10-round fight is going to be vast? That’s what you’re going to see, you’re going to see a more improved version of Ngannou on March 8 in Saudi Arabia.”
The Undercard
After upsetting Deontay Wilder (and derailing the planned Joshua vs Wilder fight), New Zealand’s Joseph Parker will take on fearsome heavyweight Zhilei Zhang. Zhang, twice halted Joe Joyce last year to win and retain the WBO interim strap. Britain’s unbeaten Nick Ball will box Rey Vargas for the WBC featherweight title. Plus, up-and-coming prospects Justis Huni, Jack McGann, Roman Fury (Tyson’s brother) and Mark Chamberlain will challenge Gavin Gwynne for the European title.
Where To Find the Event
Sky Sports Box Office & DAZN will share the broadcasting rights on fight night. Shay Segev, CEO of, DAZN said: “DAZN is the undisputed home of boxing, and it is an honor to have been chosen by Riyadh Season again as their global broadcast and distribution partner for “Knockout Chaos”. We share Riyadh Season’s ambitions and look forward to repaying their trust by producing and broadcasting another blockbuster event Friday 8 March.”
Sky Sports managing director Jonathan Licht said: “As the unrivalled home for sports fans in the UK and Ireland, Sky Sports is thrilled to offer our customers the chance to watch this eagerly awaited clash.“
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
