The odds may once again be stacked against him, but Francis Ngannou not only expects to beat Anthony Joshua in his return to boxing, but he thinks he can finish him.
The former UFC heavyweight champion will return to the ring March 8 to box Joshua in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ngannou is coming off a highly competitive split decision loss to WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury this past October. Ngannou knocked Fury down in the fight, and many observers thought he did enough to get the call in his pro boxing debut. Against Joshua, Ngannou expects to get his hand raised – and likely before the final bell.
“I think most likely (I’m) knocking Anthony Joshua out,” Ngannou said on The MMA Hour. “I think that he’s easier to go down than Fury. I mean, not that he’s not a strong fighter. He’s a very tough fighter, but he’s easier to send down than Fury, and it’s harder for him to get back up than Fury.”
Ngannou thought Joshua looked good in his win against Otto Wallin in December, but he thinks Wallin didn’t pose much of a threat, something he can’t relate to.
“He looked amazing,” Ngannou said of Joshua. “Congratulations to him. He was doing his job properly. His speed was there. He looked sharp – very sharp. But on the other hand, I think there wasn’t a response in front of him.
“I think I will have a better response in front of him that will put him not in such comfortable positions and situations. Things will change. Things will be different. I will not stand there and just look at him – no. It’s going to be different. I’m going to throw some bombs out there, and he’s going to be mindful of what he’s doing.”
Ngannou said he currently is in Paris, but after a London news conferencenext week, he plans to relocate to Saudi Arabia for his training camp. As of now, he plans to work with the same team he worked with for the Fury fight.
The 37-year-old said he respects Joshua, but he’s confident he can get the job done. Ngannou said he’s just getting started in boxing and expects to be much better this time around than in his debut.
“No one still knows what I can do,” Ngannou said. “That was my first fight in boxing. That was my first fight. As anyone, I’m just improving, and the gap of improvement for a beginner like me, it’s huge. I’m just a beginner improving.”
