Anthony Joshua took on Francis Ngannou on March 8, 2024, in Saudi Arabia in a highly-anticipated boxing bout. Joshua was calm throughout the fight week and claimed that Ngannou was not on his level when it came to boxing. The Britisher showed exactly that inside the ring. Early in the second round, Joshua knocked Ngannou out cold with one of the strongest right hands in pro boxing.
Ngannou looked more comfortable in the ring than he was against Tyson Fury in his debut in October 2023. However, right off the bat, Joshua looked much more serious than Fury was against Ngannou. Fury was blamed by several pundits for not taking the Cameroonian-French athlete seriously. AJ was not making the same mistake.
Ngannou’s right hand was perilously low calling out for Joshua’s punch. Whenever Ngannou went in for a left hand, Joshua countered with a right. After multiple body shots, Joshua rocked Ngannou with a solid right to knock him down. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion finally got a taste of a solid punch. He was shaken but he did not back down.
In the second round, Ngannou switched to orthodox as his switch to southpaw did not work in the first. However, nothing could save him from another knockdown because of Joshua’s right hand. AJ made Ngannou look like a novice. Straight after Ngannou was up and ready to box again, Joshua connected for a third and final time. This was the strongest and cleanest of the lot. Ngannou went down very heavily and the bout was over.
The Cameroonian had lost consciousness as he was down for several minutes after getting knocked out. He got up and received oxygen from the doctors ringside. It was a relief to see him get back up.
Tyson Fury was shocked to see Anthony Joshua knockout Francis Ngannou
Joshua had the experience of the world going into this bout over a novice boxer Ngannou. However, so did Fury. But 35-year-old Fury was knocked down by Ngannou and could not dominate the former UFC fighter convincingly. Fury won the bout controversially via split decision. Joshua, on the other hand, left no scraps.
Tyson Fury’s reaction to Anthony Joshua’s knockout of Francis Ngannou.
Does a picture tell a thousand words?#JoshuaNgannou pic.twitter.com/TlDcDNiZV0
— Raf (elusive2.0) (@elusiveraf) March 9, 2024
The third right hand and knockout punch will be talked about for a long while. Fury, who was ringside for the fight and heavily involved in the buildup, knew that. He was shocked and in disbelief, as he watched AJ catch Ngannou flush in the face.
Fury responded to AJ’s performance, as per Michael Benson. He said, “I’m sure Oleksandr Usyk will have something to say something about that. I had a s*** performance against Ngannou. AJ did absolutely fantastic and lit him up with a right hand. If he fights me after I beat Usyk twice then it will be a different game.”
‼️ Tyson Fury on Anthony Joshua wanting to fight him after KOing Francis Ngannou: “I’m sure Oleksandr Usyk will have something to say something about that. I had a s*** performance against Ngannou. AJ did absolutely fantastic and lit him up with a right hand. If he fights me…
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) March 9, 2024
Fury accepted his under-par performance against Ngannou but also hinted at there being a rematch clause against Usyk. Fury vs. Usyk will take place in May for the undisputed heavyweight title. Eddie Hearn claimed that the winner of Ngannou vs. Joshua would face the winner of Fury vs Usyk. However, as Fury claimed having to defeat Usyk twice, there might be a rematch clause in their contract.
Eddie Hearn wants Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua for the undisputed heavyweight title fight
After the fight, Ngannou was congratulated by Jose Mourinho and Brazilian Ronaldo, soccer royalty. During his post-fight interview in the ring, Joshua said he did not want Ngannou to leave boxing. On Ngannou’s part, he has fought two of the best heavyweights boxing has to offer. Joshua was extremely supportive of Ngannou and saw potential in ‘The Predator’.
📣 ‘The best heavyweight in the world! I can’t wait for AJ to beat Tyson Fury!’
Eddie Hearn reacts to #JoshuaNgannou 💥 pic.twitter.com/9ukVKvJA5t
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) March 9, 2024
On the other hand, Joshua’s potential was off the roof as well. Eddie Hearn was delighted with his boxer’s performance and believed there was no one better than him in the division. He asked Fury to defeat Usyk and set up a fight.
In his interview with DAZN, Hearn said, “On this form, there is no man in the heavyweight division who can beat Anthony Joshua. There is a man down there called Tyson Fury. Please defeat Usyk, because then we can set up the biggest fight in the history of the heavyweight division.”
Joshua is supposed to fight the winner of Fury vs. Usyk next. He has fought four times in the past 11 months. It is unlikely that AJ will wait months for two Fury vs. Usyk matches. He could probably fight Joseph Parker.
The Kiwi boxer earned the WBO interim heavyweight title in the co-main event against Zhilei Zhang. Parker has earned quite the resume and looks like a formidable opponent. However, Joshua can enjoy his hard-earned break for now.