British former world champion Anthony Joshua, left, and MMA fighter Francis Ngannou struggle throughout the heavyweight boxing showdown at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 9, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP
Former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua stopped Francis Ngannou in the second round on Saturday, dominating his matchup with the ex-UFC heavyweight champ.
Joshua floored Ngannou in the first round and once more in the second with proper arms at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. He completed the struggle with one punch instantly after the second 10-count, apparently knocking Ngannou out chilly with an unblocked proper hand.
The 37-year-old Ngannou finally acquired as much as his stool, however the blended martial arts star was dazed and clearly damage after his encounter with Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) in solely his second professional boxing match. Joshua and Ngannou embraced and talked afterward.
“I told him he shouldn’t leave boxing,” Joshua said. “He can do well. Remember, he’s two fights in, and he’s fought the best. He can go a long way if he stays dedicated, but it’s up to him.”
The struggle world had optimism for Ngannou after he gave a formidable efficiency in a near-upset of Tyson Fury final October, shedding by a slender break up choice. Joshua rapidly proved there is not any substitute for years of boxing expertise — and presumably revealed simply how frivolously Fury handled his bout with Ngannou final fall.
Joshua got here out to regulate the distance along with his famously sharp jab, however Ngannou acquired in a few good photographs early. Joshua abruptly floored Ngannou with lower than a minute left in the first round, firing a straight proper hand via Ngannou’s patchy guard.
Ngannou went down once more from an unblocked proper hand in an alternate early in the second. He acquired up shakily, and Joshua rapidly ended the punishment.
Joshua has held a number of world heavyweight titles in a profitable skilled profession following his gold medal-winning efficiency in the London Olympics, however the Englishman needed to rebuild his popularity after shedding his three title belts in the first of consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022.
Now 34, Joshua received his final three fights earlier than accepting this assembly with Ngannou, whose expertise and identify recognition turned it into a big-money matchup.
Ngannou started his professional boxing profession final yr after a blended martial arts profession in which he claimed the UFC’s heavyweight belt in 2021 and defended it in 2022.
The Cameroon native then walked away from the UFC on account of contractual disagreements and signed an revolutionary cope with the Professional Fighters League. Although he has but to struggle for the rival promotion, Ngannou is predicted to tackle PFL heavyweight champ Renan Ferreira later this yr.
But Ngannou was enticed by the huge paydays of pay-per-view boxing, and he placed on an impressive efficiency in his ring debut whereas preventing heavyweight kingpin Fury to a split-decision loss in Saudi Arabia. Ngannou knocked down Fury in the third round and challenged him all through a defeat that confirmed Ngannou was rather more harmful than some other MMA fighter that has made the not too long ago trendy transfer into boxing.
The outcome sparked curiosity in Ngannou as a respectable contender in the heavyweight division, which has been repeatedly damage by promotional clashes and ego-driven disputes throughout an period that includes spectacular skills who have not fought one another as usually as they need to.
The principal occasion didn’t start in Riyadh till after 3:30 a.m. — even an hour later than the deliberate begin time, which was set in deference to the European and North American viewing markets.
On the undercard, heavyweight Joseph Parker rebounded from getting knocked down twice to assert a majority choice over Zhilei Zhang. WBC featherweight champion fought to a break up draw with Nick Ball.
