Francis Ngannou intends to put Anthony Joshua’s chin to the test.
Last week, 2024 got things going strong when it was revealed that Ngannou and Joshua will square off in a 10-round heavyweight boxing battle that is scheduled to happen in March in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The fight was declared two weeks after Joshua stunned Otto Wallin with a masterful performance, ruining the much anticipated clash with Deontay Wilder, his then-planned next opponent, by losing shockingly to Joseph Parker. And that’s when Ngannou said he had his opportunity to take aim at Joshua.
During The MMA Hour on Monday, Ngannou stated, “That’s when I stepped in.” “I realized there was a chance when I saw the Joshua fight and the Wilder match that followed. I thus tweeted first, and then I got a call. [Giggles]”
Ngannou watched the matches closely even though he wasn’t present because he intends to eventually take on both men. Although he was pleased with Joshua’s performance, he also thinks Joshua is capable of putting up far more of a fight than Wallin did.
“He had an incredible appearance. Regarding Joshua, Ngannou remarked, “Respect him, congratulations to him.” “Everything about his quickness there, his job, he was doing it well. He was incredibly sharp. However, I don’t believe he had a retort in front of him. I believe that my approach will be more appropriate for him and will make him feel less at ease. Things are about to shift. It will not be the same. I’m not going to stand there staring at him. It will not be the same. I’m going to unleash some bombs on him to handle. I believe he will exercise caution when acting.
For someone who has only competed in one professional boxing battle, that shows a lot of confidence, but Ngannou has good cause to feel that way. While Ngannou lost a contentious split decision to lineal boxing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in October of last year, the former UFC heavyweight champion also significantly outperformed expectations by outboxing Fury for significant portions of the bout and even stopping “The Gypsy King” in the third round.
Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, offered the former UFC champion his props following that fight but said Ngannou would be “easy work” for Joshua, despite having previously questioned Ngannou’s chances against Fury. Now that they are about to find out, Ngannou has an opinion about how the battle might proceed.
Eddie, according to Ngannou, is a promoter. He does that on a regular basis. He always repeats the same thing, except it’s about someone else instead of Francis Ngannou. He simply acts in such manner. The time has been determined. In two months, it will be too late for any of them if they believe they would have easy money.
“I can’t promise that AJ will get up if he takes the blow that Fury did. It’s been said that he lacks a chin. I’m going to investigate. [Giggles.]
Ngannou, however, has nothing but love and respect for Joshua. Because of their shared African ancestry—Joshua is from Nigeria, Ngannou is from Cameroon—and when Ngannou defeats Joshua, he makes the suggestion that maybe they may resume their business in Africa.
“In the end, it’s fantastic stuff for us both,” Ngannou remarked. “Even if he were my brother, I would still fight him since it benefits not only the continent but also both of us. There is no combat involved. Fighting someone is never done out of hatred; rather, fighting someone is done because it’s a challenge that always benefits both fighters.
“Eddie Hearn spoke a lot of bullshit, but one of his statements made sense: Joshua might get rematched in Africa. That sounds rather nice, in my opinion. That will be known as Black Excellence.