Anthony Joshua backed to beat Francis Ngannou in cage fight after KO win

12 March 2024 , 13:09

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Anthony Joshua backed to beat Francis Ngannou in cage fight after KO win

Anthony Joshua has been told he could beat Francis Ngannou at his own game following their boxing fight.

Former two-time unified heavyweight world champion Joshua brutally knocked out Ngannou in Saudi Arabia last weekend. Ngannou, a former UFC champion, was fighting as a professional boxer for the second time following his stunning debut performance against Tyson Fury last October.

Joshua did what Fury couldn't by dropping Ngannou in the opening round when he landed a big right hand. Ngannou was able to compose himself and get back to his feet, but he was dropped again in the very next round with the exact same punch. 'AJ' made sure Ngannou didn't get back up just moments later with another thunderous right hand that put him out cold.

UFC legend Demetrious Johnson thinks Joshua would have the same success against Ngannou in an MMA fight, as he said on his YouTube channel: "Does Anthony Joshua beat Francis Ngannou in an MMA fight? I think he does. It would just be another striking match. AJ understands his distance. He understands the void. He has better hands than Francis, and he can make Francis even whiff and miss again.

"Unless Francis is going to change his tactic and go clinch him and wrestle him. AJ is very athletic. He is smaller, he’s more limber. I think he’d be able to stuff the shot and be able to give it to Francis. Another thing that could have been Francis’ downfall was he had that boxing match with Tyson Fury. So Joshua got an opportunity to see Francis fight boxing.

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"What he took from the boxing match on Francis vs. Tyson? He probably took, ‘Okay, Francis doesn’t move his head. He doesn’t really move his head. He’s not very light on his feet.' Tyson, he’s kind of light on his feet, and Tyson’s trying to avoid the fight. This time, Joshua got right to work right off the bat, and that’s usually not a good sign if the other opponent doesn’t respond.”

Joshua is now expected to face the winner of Fury and Oleksandr Usyk's undisputed world title fight, which takes place in Saudi Arabia on May 18. Ngannou has insisted he is far from done with boxing, but the 37-year-old is set for his MMA return against PFL star Renan Ferreira later this year.

Harry Davies