Francis Ngannou takes on Anthony Joshua for just his second professional boxing bout. The former UFC Heavyweight Champion faced Tyson Fury on his debut in October 2023. Ngannou shocked the world with his extraordinary performance as he knocked Fury down. However, Fury won the bout via split decision.
Next up for Ngannou is two-time former unified world heavyweight champion- Joshua. The pair will face off in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia, on March 8, 2024.
THE GREATEST PROMO EVER‼️
Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou. pic.twitter.com/NWOFzMWFrr
— Boxing Kingdom (@BoxingKingdom14) February 27, 2024
This fight holds extraordinary significance as Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn, who claimed he was nervous before the fight as Ngannou outsized Joshua, revealed that the winner of Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua will face the winner between Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury vs. Usyk, billed as Ring of Fire, which was set to take place in February 2024, got postponed to May 18, 2024. The fight will be for the undisputed heavyweight championship.
The winner of Ngannou vs Joshua will have a shot at the undisputed title. Many all around the world believe Ngannou has it in him to make just his third pro-boxing bout an undisputed title bout. However, many others believe Ngannou does not have what it takes to get the better of the British boxer. Let’s find out the predictions from the MMA and the boxing world.
6 UFC fighters who believe Francis Ngannou will defeat Anthony Joshua
1. Dan Hardy
Former UFC welterweight fighter Dan Hardy made his pick for the big Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua battle. According to Hardy, Ngannou would rock Joshua. “I’m going with Ngannou genuinely,” Hardy told Sky Sports.
He explained how he picked Fury in the Ngannou vs. Fury battle but Joshua is a better match-up for Ngannou. “I picked Fury in the last one. I felt Fury was going to be able to catch him fifth or sixth round once he started to get tired. But this for me is a much better match-up for Ngannou.
“I feel like AJ’s easier to hit, easier to rattle psychologically and I feel like because of the unknown commodity of Francis Ngannou there’s going to be a shock to the system.”
Ngannou is one of the fiercest punchers in combat sports and Hardy thinks that will do the trick. “There’s an unquantifiable power about Ngannou and that’s concerning because he can punch through a decent guard. I feel like AJ’s going to feel punches coming through his guard and they’re going to surprise him a little bit.”
Hardy showed utmost respect for Joshua’s power as well. However, he insisted that Ngannou’s confidence will be high after a great show against Fury.
2. Daniel Cormier
Former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Daniel Cormier also had similar views. DC took to his YouTube channel and explained that Ngannou needs to be more ferocious and cautious in his approach. DC believes Ngannou can pull off the unexpected win.
“For him to win, he’s got to do what he did last time, but he’s got to be a little more ferocious in his approach,” Cormier said on his YouTube channel.
“Because I really do believe that if he approaches this fight with bad intent and he goes out there and he’s swinging and he’s a little bit reckless, I believe he will make Joshua fight in such a way that it will limit all of these skills that he’s built over a lifetime. I think Francis has a chance, and I think Francis can get it done.”
After Ngannou’s fight against Fury, many believed the decision was wrong and controversial. However, Cormier believed Fury won the fight fair and square but Ngannou put up a top-notch performance.
3. Sean O’Malley
UFC Bantamweight Champion Sean O’Malley also picked the former UFC champion to earn the win. O’Malley would also be fighting on the same weekend. Suga will take on Marlon “Chito” Vera at UFC 299 in Miami on Saturday, March 9, 2024. Previously, O’Malley explained that Joshua and Ngannou’s fight would not do well in PPV terms as it is just before a UFC PPV. He even claimed that Ngannou vs. Fury did not do well in PPV terms.
However, Ngannou vs. Joshua was probably set to take place on the same day as the UFC 299 PPV. The reason why the boxing bout is taking place on a Friday is that Saudi Arabia is also hosting an F1 Grand Prix over the weekend.
O’Malley appreciated Ngannou’s physique and claimed that he might never be able to be knocked out. He was impressed by the Cameroonian’s boxing skills and raw power. O’Malley picked Ngannou to win the fight against Joshua and fight for the undisputed title next.
4. Rashad Evans
Another former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion is backing Ngannou. Rashad Evans told GiveMeSport: “I mean, it’s hard for me to put anything past Francis, man. That performance and now he’s gonna be fighting Anthony Joshua.
“I mean, I think he’s gonna do it. I made a prediction at the end of [2023] and I said: ‘I think that Francis Ngannou is gonna be a heavyweight boxing champ by the end of the year’.”
If Ngannou does win the bout, he will be one step closer to fulfilling Evans’ prediction. It is, however, a bold overall prediction from Evans considering Ngannou is still a new face in the boxing world.
5. Michael Bisping
Former UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping believes Ngannou has a chance against Joshua. Bisping uploaded a video on YouTube explaining his breakdown of the fight between Joshua and Ngannou.
Bisping talked about how there were a lot of questions about Ngannou before he went in to fight Fury. If he had the stamina, if he had the speed, if he had what it takes and Ngannou answered yes to all those questions. According to Bisping, Fury looked like an MMA fighter and the former UFC champion looked like the pro boxer in the fight. Bisping believes Ngannou has what it takes to defeat Joshua as well.
6. Tom Aspinall
The current UFC interim heavyweight champion is backing the former champion. Tom Aspinall told Betsson that he would have surely opted for Joshua if he was asked this question two years ago. Ngannou was still fighting in the UFC until 2022. He had aspirations of becoming a boxer all his life, however, in 2022, no one would have expected what he has done.
His fight with Fury changed Aspinall’s mind. He was shocked at what he witnessed. Aspinall has sparred with Fury and claimed that Fury is an extraordinary boxer. “I can’t say enough great things about him [Tyson Fury]. To see what Francis Ngannou did to him is mind-blowing for somebody like me.”
Aspinall claims that he thinks Ngannou can get the better of anyone now. “Now I’m really high on Francis Ngannou’s boxing level. I think he’s brilliant and has a chance against anybody. If he can do what he did against Tyson Fury, he has a chance against anybody.”
However, several pros do not think Ngannou can beat Joshua. Many are backing the Watford-born athlete to achieve victory in Saudi Arabia.
5 boxers who believe Anthony Joshua will defeat Francis Ngannou
1. Ricky Hatton
British former professional boxer is one of many from the boxing world who believe Joshua will win the fight. Like Jones, Hatton also said he’d put his money on Joshua. “If you’re asking where my money would go, it would go on AJ because he’s an exceptional boxer, you don’t become an Olympic gold medalist and a two-time world champion for nothing,” he said, according to TalkSPORT.
Although Ngannou is known for his striking, ‘The Hitman’ Hatton believes his countryman has “enough firepower to shine against Ngannou.”
2. Amir Khan
Another British former professional boxer backing their countryman is Amir Khan. He is a former unified light-welterweight world champion. Khan expects AJ to do better than Fury as he would have learned from Fury’s mistakes.
“But the fight with Joshua, Joshua’s gonna know now how hard he gave a fight to Fury. So, I’m sure he’s going to be on his A-game. He’s not going to make the same mistakes and he’s going to train very hard for this fight. Because like I said, maybe Tyson overlooked him and thought it was going to be a walk in the park but really he surprised us all,” Khan told the Sun.
Khan predicted that Joshua has a shot of winning via KO as well. “So I think this is only going to make Joshua train even harder. But, I got Joshua winning… I think it could be a mid-round, mid-fight knockout maybe four, five, six rounds. Or, it could be a 12-round decision.”
Khan has famously fought Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford. However, he lost both matches via KO. He announced his retirement from boxing in 2022 with a record of 34-6. The Britisher was later involved in doping issues
3. Matty Harris
British pro-boxer Matty Harris could have a valuable prediction. He has shared the ring with both AJ and Ngannou as their sparring partner. His opinion and prediction are from first-hand experience unlike anyone else. Speaking in an interview with Seconds Out, Harris said, “AJ goes through him. The thing with Ngannou that is quite challenging I suppose, is his physical strength. He is incredibly physically strong.
“You know when you first clash with someone, you get into that first clinch, I imagine that might have caught Fury by surprise. He’s an incredibly strong individual, when I met him, his abs were popping out through his top.
“I’ve never seen anyone built so strong. I remember when he grabbed me during a spar, in a little bit of a clinch, and I had never felt like such a victim in all of my life.”
Although Harris was all praise for Ngannou and his strength, he believes AJ can still go through him. However, the fact that he has sparred with both these power punchers is an achievement in itself.
4. Johnny Nelson
British boxing analyst and former pro-boxer Ivanson Ranny “Johnny Nelson” made his predictions on Sky Sports. “I think he [Joshua] comes through it with flying colors,” Nelson told Sky Sports.
“I think Joshua wants to be world champion again, I think Joshua knows what responsibility he will have. He will know ‘I just have to get through this fight and get the win’ because of the big pot of gold at the end of it.”
Nelson explained that Joshua has all the abilities in the world to win the fight. However, he wanted to him to focus on the little details to make his life easy.
5. Paulie Malignaggi
Speaking to Lord Ping, former world champion Paulie Malignaggi admitted that Ngannou is impressive, however, he is not good enough to take out Joshua.
“Ngannou is a puncher, and as with most punchers, if you back them up, you can nullify them. Ngannou looked great as an MMA guy in boxing, his feet were good. But a very well-prepared AJ who backs you up behind the jab with changes of rhythm, you’re going to take away Ngannou’s power… As impressed as I was with Ngannou, I still think AJ takes him out pretty easily.”
Malignaggi was impressed with Joshua’s outing against Otto Wallin and expects him to build up on it.
Special mention: Jon Jones and his prediction
The current UFC Heavyweight champion does not agree with the rest of the UFC fighters. He claimed he would give all his support to Ngannou, however, he refused to believe that Ngannou could get the job done.
During his visit to Saudi Arabia in February 2024 for the PFL vs Bellator event, Jon Jones was asked about the fight by Chael Sonnen. Jones responded, “I’m rooting for Francis to win only because of his story, how far he’s coming in life, him being a fellow mixed martial artist… How could you not root for Francis? Francis is a wonderful, stand-up person. I’m rooting for Francis.”
However, Jones would not want to put his money on Ngannou. “Anthony Joshua, he’s been doing this since he’s a young boy, and I’m the type of guy that just gives respect where it’s due,” Jones said. “If I had to personally put my money on it, not that I gamble, I would put it on Anthony Joshua, but I am rooting for Francis Ngannou. Sorry, Francis.”
Jones even embraced Ngannou’s mother at the event and the Cameroonian boxer was very pleased. Although there was plenty of banter between the two it seemed like they were friends in real life.
How did Joshua and Ngannou fare in their previous outings?
Taking a look back, Joshua’s last outing before Ngannou was Wallin. Joshua came out all guns blazing and was more aggressive than usual. He battered Wallin in the fifth round and pulled off an impressive TKO win at the end of the round after Wallin was rendered unable to continue.
Ngannou, on the other hand, made his debut against Fury in his last match. In the first few rounds, Ngannou dominated Fury. He joined a small list of boxers who dropped Fury. The Cameronian even danced on Fury’s face to celebrate his achievement. The British boxer was rattled.
However, he got back his composure and fought smartly for the rest of the fight. Ngannou did not have any more extraordinary moments in the fight. Many felt that what he did in the first few rounds was enough to give him the win. However, Fury picked up the win via split decision. We are sure to have a spectacle in front of us on March 8, 2024, as Ngannou takes on Joshua.
