In a stunning victory, Anthony Joshua knocked out Francis Ngannou in the second round of their heavyweight fight in Saudi Arabia. The fight saw Joshua deliver a powerful right hand that left Ngannou dazed and in need of medical attention. Joshua had previously dropped Ngannou in the first round before finishing him off in the second. The win marks Joshua’s fourth in 11 months and keeps his ambition of recapturing a world title alive.
Following the fight, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn urged Joshua to face the winner of the upcoming heavyweight unification fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk. Fury, who watched Joshua’s fight from ringside, previously fought and defeated Ngannou in a close points win. Joshua expressed his desire to fight Fury himself after seeing the fight, but praised Ngannou for his capabilities and urged him to stay in the boxing world.
The fight took place in Saudi Arabia amidst criticism of the country’s human rights records and the use of sporting events as a form of “sports washing”. Despite this, the fight had its share of high-profile attendees including former boxing champions Amir Khan and Manny Pacquiao, football manager Jose Mourinho, and Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldo. The Saudi crowd, known for their quiet and orderly behavior, watched as Joshua delivered a message to his rival Fury.
Joshua’s trainer Ben Davison praised Joshua’s performance and acknowledged that Joshua had not previously been hit by someone like AJ before. The pressure was on Joshua to deliver this message to Fury, and he did so with finesse. Ngannou, who previously worked in a sand quarry in Cameroon as a 12-year-old before making his way to becoming UFC champion, is set to return to MMA later this year with the PFL
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