Anthony Joshua Floors Ngannou In 2nd-Round KO Victory
BY VICTOR OSOWOCHI – Former World Heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Joshua knocked out Cameroonian boxer, Francis Ngannou in the second round of their heavyweight boxing match in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, March 9 with his eyes on a potential fight with WBC champion Tyson Fury.
The British fighter floored the Cameroonian twice at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena before a third knockout blow ended the contest and the face-off with Fury now seems inevitable given the manner of the victory. It was Joshua’s fourth straight win in the main event of the “Knockout Chaos” card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
After securing consecutive victories in 2023 with wins over Jermaine Franklin in April and Robert Helenius with a seventh-round knockout in August, Joshua cruised to a fifth-round technical knockout win over Otto Wallin in December, who had been expected to be a formidable opponent, especially with his southpaw stance.
In beating Wallin and Ngannou, Joshua has now secured knockout wins over two fighters who took Tyson Fury the distance. Recalled that Ngannou shocked fans when he knocked Fury down in their bout last year and because of that performance, fans believed he could pull a shocker against Joshua too.
But Joshua silenced the doubters by outboxing Ngannou throughout the two rounds and made a statement as promised with a knockout win within five minutes of their fight.
The Cameroonian-born boxer needed a doctor after he was knocked out and received oxygen at the corner of the ring before he stood back up. Ngannou is a former UFC and was standing in only his second boxing bout having floored Fury in an eventual loss in his debut.
In the post-match conference, Joshua expressed readiness to face the winner of Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk for a chance to recapture the world heavyweight titles.
Fury will face Usyk, who currently holds the WBA, IBF, and WBO championship belts, in their rearranged May 18, 2024 bout that will crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 2000.
