Francis Ngannou told five things he must do against Anthony Joshua in mega-fight

02 March 2024 , 17:45

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Francis Ngannou told five things he must do against Anthony Joshua in mega-fight

Francis Ngannou has been given a long list of instructions as he prepares to take on Anthony Joshua next week.

Ngannou, who dropped Tyson Fury on his professional boxing debut last October before falling to a narrow split-decision after 10 rounds, goes into Friday's clash as a significant underdog. Joshua has won his last three fights and knows victory could propel him into another world title fight.

One of those victories last year came against Jermain Franklin and the heavyweight has offered Ngannou some advice ahead of his second boxing bout. "Francis needs to do these five things," he told Action Network. "1. He needs to come out fast and bully AJ, Joshua does not like to be bullied. 2. He must use his jab to set up his power, he cannot look for one shot to take him out. 3. Francis needs to stay patient and wait for the opening like he did with Fury. 4. He will need to take AJ’s power, and if he can do that, he has a major chance to win. 5. He must focus on working the body and using angles to counter AJ’s power.”

Joshua, meanwhile, will not simply bulldoze his way through Ngannou and must seek to wear out the mixed martial artist-turned-boxer before landing any knockout blow, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.

Ngannou may have lost the element of surprise after a staggering professional boxing debut last October when the former UFC heavyweight champion knocked down Tyson Fury before losing a debatable decision.

Eddie Hearn opens talks for Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou heavyweight fight

He will look to prove his performance was no fluke on March 8 against Joshua , who hopes to put himself in the shop window for a crack at British compatriot Fury or a trilogy meeting against Oleksandr Usyk.

But promoter Hearn thinks Ngannou poses a sizeable challenge despite his novice status and is unlikely to fold as so many of Joshua’s past opponents have done when confronted by his frightening punch power.

"It’s definitely a fight with a lot of jeopardy," Hearn told the PA news agency. "You really have to be on your guard for this fight, you’ve got to be razor-sharp. Francis has surprised everybody. He’s one stubborn competitor and it’s not going to be easy, you’ll have to knock him down and keep banging and banging and banging away.

"This isn’t going to be one hit on the chin, clearly he’s an immovable object with a fantastic chin and big, big, big power. You’ve got to be really smart in this fight – don’t get hit, break him down and hopefully he’ll go over like a big tower and we can just move on."

Martin Domin