Former UFC champion Francis Ngannou literally flew into professional boxing last fall. Francis had always wanted to follow in Conor McGregor’s footsteps, but Dana White didn’t give the Predator permission to hold a boxing match. For the sake of his dream, Ngannou had to leave the UFC, which many considered crazy.
Francis disappeared at first, but constantly assured that there would be news in boxing soon. And in the end, the news became a bomb: Ngannou received one of the best heavyweights in the world, Tyson Fury, as an opponent. Then there was a wave of skepticism, which the former UFC champion faced and gave the fight of his life. Francis spent all 10 rounds with the world champion, in addition, Ngannou managed to put Fury on the fifth point. And this is in a debut boxing match!
Epic Battle Report:
The worst fight of Fury’s career. Ngannou took him down and almost missed.
It is clear that Francis’s stock skyrocketed, and the happy Ngannou, who won more in one fight than in his entire UFC career, immediately received another great opponent: the former three-time world champion Anthony Joshua. Ngannou could not repeat his success: Francis was knocked down twice, and then Joshua literally folded Francis in half with his characteristic straight line.
Anthony dealt with Francis so quickly and, at first glance, so easily that many began to wonder: could this be the end of Ngannou as a boxer? That night, the former UFC champion looked like a guy who had been taken to boxing school.
Does this mean Ngannou is a bad boxer? Hardly. Most likely, he is inexperienced. Think about it, this was only his second fight in the professional ring, and in both cases he boxed guys like Fury and Joshua. It is obvious that the Gypsy King did not particularly prepare for the fight with Francis, for which he almost paid, while Ngannou, on the contrary, approached his debut to the best of his abilities. But Anthony had the advantage that he could calmly study Ngannou’s mistakes in the fight with Tyson, dismantle everything and destroy his opponent. Which is exactly what AJ did.
Francis showed serious problems in defense, Joshua simply crossed the block and again and again reached the goal thanks to his speed. During the first knockdown, Ngannou found himself in a southpaw position: Francis also made this bet in the fight with Fury, apparently trying to surprise the professional boxer by changing his stance. And Tyson, and especially Anthony, were not surprised by this, but, on the contrary, took advantage of these moments and threw series at Ngannou. AJ was even better in this regard. When the fight didn’t go as planned, Ngannou simply couldn’t rebuild or recover and was finished. Once again, all of this speaks to Francisco’s lack of experience as a boxer.
Analysis of the fight between Ngannou and Joshua:
Why did Joshua destroy Ngannou so easily? The famous boxer responds
Joshua approached the fight fully armed, extremely motivated, with a competent game plan and the desire to win. It had been a long time since we had seen Anthony so focused, because he had a potential fight with the winner of the Usyk-Fury duo at stake; there was no way he could lose. And for Ngannou, perhaps, it was one of the unluckiest days of his career. Of course, we’re just talking about the sporting component: a check for $20 million for two lower rounds clearly made the evening much more enjoyable for Francisco.
Ngannou hasn’t shown anything he can really do. Francis adapted to boxing and put up an excellent fight against Fury, turning a blind eye to the fact that the Brit was clearly not himself. But Joshua didn’t send Ngannou to the ground. Yes, if Frances had hit AJ’s not-so-strong jaw with her mallet, everything could have ended differently. But this is just a subjunctive mood that sports don’t really like.
Francisco Ngannou
Photo: Richard Pelham/Getty Images
Unfortunately for Francisco himself, he will turn 38 in September. There is simply no time to compensate for lack of experience and this is unlikely to be possible.
There is a demand for Ngannou as a boxer, that’s obvious. Especially in Saudi Arabia, where they love shows and big names. The question is what Francisco himself thinks about continuing his career. It is clear that after such a performance with AJ Francis he must forget about the surnames Usyk, Joshua and Fury: the mixed martial arts star will not see fights with them. The Arabs could well set up a fight between Ngannou and Wilder, who had a mediocre fight with Joseph Parker and seemed to have fallen out of the division’s elite. For both, victory in this battle will once again open the doors to the top and will also bring a round sum to the account. And the star battle will attract the attention of the public.
But at the same time, Francisco needs to understand and, apparently, he understood that no one will play cat and mouse with him anymore. An accused Wilder, and he will definitely be accused after the fiasco with Parker, can literally paralyze Francis. Do you agree that Joshua’s knockout and maximum oxygen after the fight looked terrible? And Deontay can hit at least as well.
Explaining Wilder’s punching power:
Why Wilder is the best knockout fighter in the world. We dismantle the equipment of the Bronze Bomber.
Ngannou certainly has his advantages, most notably his phenomenal physical strength. But this is not enough to compete at the highest level in boxing. Ngannou, due to his big name in martial arts, may get one or two more high profile fights and earn a few more bags of Arab money. But that’s all.
