There was a lot of doubt for the towering Englishman leading up to this fight. People were saying he’d lost it. People were saying his back to back losses against the Ukrainian, Oleksandr Usyk, were a sign that his glory days were behind him. People were saying that if Francis Ngannou could knock down Tyson Fury, imagine what he’d do to Anthony Joshua.
But Joshua shut everyone up, and he needed less than two rounds to do it. After dropping Ngannou instantly in round one, round two yielded the same result, with yet another immediate knockdown, followed by one of the most devastating right hands not just of Joshua’s career, but in recent boxing memory, laying the Former UFC Heavyweight Champion flat on his back – K.O. A truly beautiful performance inside the Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia.
After the fight in the ring and at the post fight press conference, Joshua was all class, hyping up his opponent, telling Ngannou that he did, in fact, deserve the decision nod over Fury. Ngannou himself was humble in defeat, and when asked about how hard the punch felt, he said, “I don’t remember getting hit, but that means I was knocked out.”
In a backstage interview with UFC commentator Ariel Hawani and Tyson Fury, Fury admitted that he did think Joshua would get the job done in one round, praising his fellow Englishman, before saying that, “But I’m a different beast,” hinting at his own effortless destruction of Joshua. He also admitted his own hiccup against Ngannou, “I put on a terrible performance, I’ve always said that.”
Ariel Hawani, however, was completely speechless. “Ngannou has a chin, and he’s been hit with 4 ounce gloves (in the UFC), and no one’s ever done that to him. I’ve never seen him get dropped, I’ve never seen him get knocked out, and for that to happen to him – I’m completely speechless.” Adding to the speculation over Joshua’s previous troubles: “When he lost to Usyk, we saw Joshua throw the belts out of the ring, nearly get in a post-fight fight during the announcements, and then weep during the press conference. So for him to come here and do that, I’m speechless.”
High praise from one of the most, if not the most, respected UFC commentator of all time.
So where does this leave Ngannou? Many thought he had an illustrious career ahead of him in boxing, and with a multimillion-dollar pay check tucking him in at night – undoubtedly higher than anything he earned in MMA – one can only wonder where the road leads. With that said, he’s also gone up against two of the best heavyweights of all time, and whether Fury was on his A game or not, still, he put on a tremendous effort. As he is now slated to face Renan Ferreira in a MMA style matchup, it will be interesting to see what gloves he decides to pick up after that.
As for Joshua? When asked about who he wants during the post fight press conference, Usyk or Fury, Joshua said: “Why can’t I have both?”
