UFC champion offers to help Anthony Joshua prepare for Francis Ngannou fight
UFC interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall has offered Anthony Joshua a helping hand for his Francis Ngannou training camp.
Joshua is currently preparing to fight Ngannou on March 8 in Saudi Arabia and the winner of their fight has been promised an undisputed heavyweight world title shot. Aspinall helped Tyson Fury prepare for his crossover fight against Ngannou last year which he narrowly won in a controversial decision.
“If [Joshua] needs help, give me a call and I’ll be there," Aspinall told Matchroom Boxing. "Boxers are used to fighting boxers, so they know the patterns of a boxer. The patterns, movement and thought process of a boxer. In MMA we’re doing different stuff than a standard boxer would. We’re throwing different shots from different angles and that’s something an MMA fighter, I’m not saying just me, could definitely help out AJ with."
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“If you get standard boxers in that have been boxing since they’re 10 years old, they’re going to move and have the same thought process as every other boxer. As MMA fighters our patterns are different, movements are jerkier and the way we defend is different to a boxer. I’m not going to tell AJ what to do, but it would be definitely recommended to get a decent level MMA fighter in as a sparring partner."
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Ngannou wants another shot at Fury if he beats Joshua and isn't interested in fighting for a world title after contractual issues with the UFC delayed his exit from the promotion. Aspinall, who currently holds the interim UFC belt, admitted he didn't give Ngannou a chance against Fury but thinks his fight with Joshua could go either way.
"I think it's great what Ngannou has done, I didn't give him a chance against Fury and I think the fight could have gone either way. I think it's great he's got this other massive fight coming up against Anthony Joshua and he's getting paid loads of money. He's obviously an absolute specimen and is a much better boxer than everyone thought," Aspinall told OLBG.
"I think his chances are quite high, beating Joshua. If you have asked me that question one year ago I would have said Joshua would have smoked Ngannou easily - in Joshua's last fight he looked really really good, he was really letting his hands go which we haven't seen in a while - but it's a 50/50 fight who, knows what happens.”
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