In two rounds, Anthony Joshua destroys Francis Ngannou in Riyadh.
British boxer Anthony Joshua defeated former UFC champion Francis Ngannou.
Joshua was coming off three victories when he agreed to this bout with Ngannou, whose popularity and skill made it an extremely lucrative battle. In Saudi Arabia,
With a massive right hand, the former two-time world champion destroyed the former mixed martial arts star by knockout in the second round.
Despite being severely defeated, Ngannou pulled himself together and spoke with Joshua, who encouraged him "not to leave" boxing.
In an October fight that the Cameroonian just lost, Joshua gave his opponent accolades, saying, "When I saw the fight with Fury, I thought damn, this guy could fight, I wanted a piece of that. After his defeat, the fighter from Watford went on to add that Ngannou was a "great champion and inspiration" and that it "shouldn't take away from his capabilities."
"He is welcome to return. I advised him not to give up boxing. "He has fought the best two fights in," Joshua remarked. After a brutal two rounds in which he twice downed Ngannou before finishing him off with an unimpeded right hand, Joshua offered some consolation.
With a few early hits, Ngannou got off to a strong start in the bout, but the Londoner's strength and impressive boxing career eventually got the better of him.
Joshua had triumphed in his previous three fights before agreeing to face Ngannou, whose popularity and skill made the bout a high-profile one.
"One of the hardest weight classes in the world is the heavyweight class. That's just the way things are. People are free to question me; I always give it my all, but I'm not even excited about the victory. Let's move on to the next one."
Joshua's next opponent might be the victor of Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, which happens at the same location on May 18. He stated with confidence: "If they want me, they can come knocking at my door. If they do knock on the door, I say let's go."
'Baddest man on the planet'
"You are looking at the baddest man on the planet," declared Eddie Hearn, who has proudly stood behind the champion since Joshua's professional debut in 2013. THE heavyweight champion of the globe.
"There's a brilliant fighter down there in Tyson Fury. Please beat Oleksandr Usyk, because you will get the biggest fight of all time."
Among the famous attendees was Jose Mourinho, the former manager of Chelsea and Roma, who gave Joshua a fist pump at the ringside following his victory.
The legendary Brazilian football player Ronaldo Nazario was also in Riyadh and potential future adversary Tyson Fury himself.
References
sky news
the mirror
Google
