Francis Ngannou took heavyweight champion Tyson Fury to a split decision in his first fight, but he had less success against Anthony Joshua.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou took boxing title-winner Tyson Fury to a decision in his first professional match, but he didn’t fare nearly as well against knockout artist Anthony Joshua in his second professional boxing bout on Friday.
Johnson did what he does best, knocking out Ngannou via a right hook in the second round of the fight. Ngannou hit the floor at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, as he fell to 0-2 in his professional boxing career.
Joshua, a former heavyweight champion, may get the chance to challenge reigning champion Fury, who was in attendance himself and has vowed to fight both Joshua and Ngannou before he retires.
Anthony Joshua BRUTALLY knocks out Francis Ngannou in the second round.
We’ll see if those fights ultimately materialize, but one thing is clear. After taking Fury to a split decision in his first match, Ngannou was humbled by Joshua on Friday.
Joseph Parker surviveed two knockdowns to outpoint Zhilei Zhang on Friday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Zhilei Zhang delivered the two most impactful punches of the fight. It was mostly Joseph Parker beyond that.
Parker survived a pair of knockdowns to defeat Zhang by a majority decision and build on his momentum on the Anthony Joshua-Francis Ngannou card on Friday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The victory was the former titleholder’s fifth in a row after he was stopped in 11 rounds by Joe Joyce in September 2022, including a one-sided decision over Deontay Wilder in his previous fight, on Dec. 23.
The fight on Friday was for Zhang’s WBO “interim” title, which puts Parker in a prime position to fight for the sanctioning body’s world title sometime soon.
Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) appeared to be in trouble in Round 3, when a straight left from the Chinese southpaw put him on his trunks.
The Kiwi bounced back to have a strong Round 4 and controlled the next several rounds. Then, in Round 8, a short right hook from Zhang forced Parker to take a knee.
Again, however, he demonstrated impressive resilience by reasserting himself and outboxing Zhang down the stretch.
One judge scored it 113-113, seven rounds to five for Zhang. However, the other two had Parker winning, 115-111 and 114-112.
Parker outworked and outlanded Zhang, according to CompuBox. Parker was 101 of 349 in overall punches, 79 of 168 in power shots. Zhang was 75 of 273 and 40 of 147, respectively.
The loss halted Zhang’s considerable momentum. The 40-year-old was coming off back-to-back knockout victories over Joyce.
Joseph Parker surviveed two knockdowns to outpoint Zhilei Zhang on Friday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Zhilei Zhang delivered the two most impactful punches of the fight. It was mostly Joseph Parker beyond that.
Parker survived a pair of knockdowns to defeat Zhang by a majority decision and build on his momentum on the Anthony Joshua-Francis Ngannou card on Friday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The victory was the former titleholder’s fifth in a row after he was stopped in 11 rounds by Joe Joyce in September 2022, including a one-sided decision over Deontay Wilder in his previous fight, on Dec. 23.
The fight on Friday was for Zhang’s WBO “interim” title, which puts Parker in a prime position to fight for the sanctioning body’s world title sometime soon.
Parker (35-3, 23 KOs) appeared to be in trouble in Round 3, when a straight left from the Chinese southpaw put him on his trunks.
The Kiwi bounced back to have a strong Round 4 and controlled the next several rounds. Then, in Round 8, a short right hook from Zhang forced Parker to take a knee.
Again, however, he demonstrated impressive resilience by reasserting himself and outboxing Zhang down the stretch.
One judge scored it 113-113, seven rounds to five for Zhang. However, the other two had Parker winning, 115-111 and 114-112.
Parker outworked and outlanded Zhang, according to CompuBox. Parker was 101 of 349 in overall punches, 79 of 168 in power shots. Zhang was 75 of 273 and 40 of 147, respectively.
The loss halted Zhang’s considerable momentum. The 40-year-old was coming off back-to-back knockout victories over Joyce.
Tyson Fury sent a clear message with his attire at the Ngannou-Joshua fight.
Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou and boxing star Anthony Joshua are set to square off in what will be the second fight of Ngannou’s boxing career on Friday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Tyson Fury, the reigning WBC heavyweight champion, defeated Ngannou via split decision in his first professional fight last October. He’s vowed to fight both Ngannou and Joshua before he retires, and when he arrived at Kingdom Arena for the fight, he was wearing a clear reminder that he’s the champion.
Fury donned a suit featuring a pattern comprised of different championship belts, a fitting look for the 35-year-old boxer who has held his title since 2020.
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) March 8, 2024
Both Ngannou and Joshua may get the chance to take that title away from Fury in the near future, but for now, he gets to watch the fight with bragging rights on his side.
Check out these photos of Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou as they stepped on the scale and faced off at the weigh-ins in Riyadh.
Check out these photos from the official weigh-ins and final faceoff for the [autotag]Anthony Joshua[/autotag] vs. [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] boxing match from outside Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photos courtesy of Richard Pelham – Getty Images and Queensbury Boxing)
Eddie Hearn thinks Francis Ngannou might go down as the trickiest challenge of Anthony Joshua’s career when it eventually comes to a close.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – [autotag]Eddie Hearn[/autotag] thinks [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] might go down as the trickiest challenge of [autotag]Anthony Joshua[/autotag]’s career when it eventually comes to a close.
Matchroom Boxing chairman Hearn, who has been the longtime promoter of Joshua, will be sitting on the edge of his seat when his fighter steps into the ring with former UFC champion Ngannou for a 10-round heavyweight bout on Friday at Kingdom Arena (pay-per-view).
Although Hearn has met him multiple times before, he said he continues to be astounded by the sheer physical presence of Ngannou. And the proven strength he carries along with the confidence of fighting Tyson Fury to a split decision loss in his boxing debut in October, gives Hearn cause for concern.
“Ngannou is huge,” Hearn told MMA Junkie following Wednesday’s pre-fight press conference. “I’m quite fascinated by the size of him. AJ’s a massive man, but Ngannou’s legs – everything. He’s got a lot of confidence going into this fight. He should be petrified. But he’s really not, and that’s worrying in itself. AJ’s better than him in itself. But he’s very strong, he’s very powerful and he punches very hard. And in this division, that can get you to victory.”
Although Ngannou is still a novice in terms of boxing experience, Hearn said his mental fortitude, athleticism and knockout power makes up for a lack of time in the sport.
Hearn is curious to see what advancement Ngannou has made with his skillset since he last stepped into the ring, but whatever it is, he doesn’t envision a path to victory for “The Predator” outside of a clean knockout.
“It’s going to be interesting to see how he’s improved,” Hearn said. “AJ’s a different beast. Fury and AJ have got different attributes. AJ’s very fast, and punches very hard. And it’ll be interesting to see – and Fury said to me, ‘I hit Ngannou hard and he didn’t move.’ And I was like, ‘Ah.’ So we’ll see if he can stand up to the speed and power of AJ.
“The only way Ngannou can win is to land a shot on AJ at some point during the fight. There’s no way that Francis can win rounds against AJ repetitively. So he has to win this fight by knockout. And as the rounds go on and he gets tired, the power will start to diminish.”
The winner of Joshua vs. Ngannou has already been touted as the next challenger to the winner of the undisputed heavyweight title unification bout between Fury and Oleksandr Usyk on May 18. The upcoming year could shape a significant chapter of the most storied weight class in boxing, and Hearn thinks Joshua is going to be the last man standing.
“The greatest fighter of our generation in the division – that’s what they’re all fighting for at the moment,” Hearn said. “If Fury beats Usyk and beats AJ, he goes down as the greatest of our generation. Unquestionable. If AJ beats – obviously he’s got to beat Ngannou – but if he beats Fury and becomes undisputed, he goes down as the greatest of our generation.
“I’m telling you now: if we get through Friday, which may be our toughest challenge, he’s going to do it all. He’ll beat Fury and knock him out. But let’s just watch through the fingers on Friday and hope we come out good.”
Ahead of a massive combat sports weekend, MMA Junkie’s Mike Bohn is joined by Ariel Helwani to talk Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou, UFC 299 and more.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – A massive combat sports weekend is upon us with the boxing match between [autotag]Anthony Joshua[/autotag] and [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] taking center stage on Friday, then UFC 299 drawing significant interest on Saturday.
Ahead of the loaded schedule, noted journalists Ariel Helwani and Mike Bohn linked up to discuss the top storylines around both events, as well as react to the news that Jake Paul will be facing Mike Tyson in a boxing match on July 20 in Arlington, Texas.
Check out the video above to see Helwani and Bohn discuss it all.
Watch Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou make weight for Friday’s boxing match in Saudi Arabia followed by their final pre-fight faceoff.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – The stage is set for the anticipated boxing showdown between [autotag]Anthony Joshua[/autotag] and former UFC heavyweight champion [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag].
Joshua and Ngannou completed the last of their fight week duties on Thursday outside of Kingdom Arena when they stepped on the scale for weigh-ins, which was followed by the final staredown between the pair ahead of Friday’s 10-round boxing match (pay-per-view).
Decorated contender Joshua registered at 252.4 pounds on the scale, while Ngannou was 272.6 pounds. He was 272 ahead of his split decision loss to Tyson Fury in his boxing debut this past October.
Both men look to be in excellent condition ahead of fight night and once again showed each other respect at the final staredown.
Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou will weigh in and make their boxing match official on Thursday in Saudi Arabia.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – [autotag]Anthony Joshua[/autotag] and [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] will make their boxing match official Thursday when they step on the scale for weigh-ins.
Ahead of Friday’s 10-round heavyweight bout at Kingdom Arena (pay-per-view), Joshua and former UFC champ Ngannou will step on the scale at weigh-ins.
Check out a live stream of the weigh-in session beginning at 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT.
MMA Junkie will also provide on-site coverage of the press conference and the rest of Joshua vs. Ngannou fight week.
For more on the matchup, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for Joshua vs. Ngannou.
After previously dismissing his place in boxing, Anthony Joshua now sees Francis Ngannou as one of his peers.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – [autotag]Anthony Joshua[/autotag] sees [autotag]Francis Ngannou[/autotag] as one of his peers going into Friday’s boxing match.
After originally dismissing former UFC heavyweight champion’s transition to boxing, Joshua has admittedly changed his tune going into his rapidly approaching 10-round encounter with Ngannou, which takes place at Kingdom Arena (pay-per-view).
“I thought this whole crossover thing wasn’t serious,” Joshua told MMA Junkie on Friday. “If I would’ve taken a crossover fight, people would’ve been like, ‘What the F is Anthony Joshua doing?’ I wouldn’t have been able to walk out of my house. But now people are taking it more seriously because of the last fight (with Tyson Fury). So it helped as well to get me motivated and take the fight, because it gives me a chance to show how great I am.”
Ngannou exceeded expectations in his boxing debut in October when he pushed Fury to his limit in a split decision loss. “The Predator” showed he can hang at the top level, at least for that night, but will have to prove himself all over again against another decorated foe in Joshua.
One thing that is hard to question after the Fury fight is the durability of Ngannou. Joshua recognizes that, and has formulated his game plan around it.
“People have put dents in me,” Joshua said. “I’ve still managed to do well. I’ve seen him. People have never put a dent in him. Don’t bank on putting a dent in him because you’re going to come up short, so find another way. That’s why I believe there’s so many ways to skin a cat. Has he lost before? Yeah. So there is a blueprint.”
Joshua intends to skin that cat and drop Ngannou to an 0-2 record in boxing. Does that mean Ngannou should be done with the sport, though? Joshua argues absolutely not.
“He’s a boxer (now),” Joshua said. “It’s his choice (if he wants to go back to MMA). I think he’s a good addition. He adds some global supporters as well. … It’s great for boxing as a whole.”
