Tyson Fury knocks self for not doing to Ngannou what Joshua did
Former champion Anthony Joshua put the boxing world on notice on Friday, demolishing Francis Ngannou with a 2nd round KO following two knockdowns within the first two rounds.
It was a big wake-up call for Ngannou, who has ventured from MMA to fighting two of the best heavyweights the sport has ever seen in his first two boxing bouts. The former UFC champion fared much better against Tyson Fury, although some believe that was a fluke.
Before the fight, Fury had mentioned that he thought Ngannou had gotten too cocky following their fight together. After the Joshua knockout, Fury spoke about the fight.
It was a fantastic knockout. It was a very rude awakening for Ngannou. He got a little bit cocky... He got knocked out, and that's what a boxer should do to an MMA fighter.
Essentially, Fury is saying that Joshua did what he should have done in the first fight against Ngannou. Many people in the boxing industry, including Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, believe that Fury simply didn't prepare well enough for the fight. He underestimated Ngannou in a sense.
Joshua may have exposed Ngannou. It could also be that Joshua is simply at the top of his game, and Fury could be on the decline. An undisputed title fight against Oleksandr Usyk in May will tell all.
Meanwhile, Joshua who was very happy at the post-fight conference after his powerful second-round knockout against Francis Ngannou as many could see in Saudi Arabia when he answered who he wanted to fight next.
After the pressure of the fight had passed, he answered many questions while smiling and having a good time, "The best thing is I can get back to the gym, and I can build on another solid training camp and I can get back in the ring and do another job, that's what I'm happy about," said Joshua.
Joshua also took some time to recognize all of the hard work everyone in the challenge had to endure "We get in there, we give our best, thanks to my coach [Ben Davison] as well, these guys, they put in a lot of time, they push me in the gym, shout out to all my sparring partners as well, thanks to my team and thank you to Francis Ngannou for taking part and making boxing great again."
Joshua now holds a record of 28-3 with 25 KOs, two of those losses are against Oleksandr Usyk, however, he does not rule out the possibility of fighting him "That would be good, but why not fight them both [Usyk and Fury]? It shouldn't be one or the other, I should have the opportunity to compete with them both, and also not just those two, there are so many other fighters I want to compete with.
"Let's keep on going, I'm not here forever, let's make hay while the sun shines. If there's an opportunity to go again, I'm ready, June, July..." he mentioned after also claiming that he did not want a belt yet.
