British heavyweight boxer, Anthony Joshua was in his dominant and ruthless best when he faced Cameroonian Former UFC champion and boxing newcomer, Francis Ngannou in their much celebrated heavyweight clash in Saudi Arabia.
Francis Ngannou, who switched from mixed martial arts, UFC to heavyweight boxing was widely tipped to give Anthony Joshua a tough time but failed to live up to expectations as he was quickly knocked down in the first round after running into Anthony Joshua’s heavy punch.
Even though he managed to survive the knocked down and continued the fight, he could not get into his groove throughout the first round as Joshua dominated him till the bell went off for the break.
In the second round, Anthony Joshua who had spotted a weakness in the Cameroonian showed why he was a former world champion as he caught Ngannou again and sent him crawling on the stage.
Francis Ngannou must have thought he was lucky to have successfully beaten the count but he almost immediately got smashed by another heavy punch from Anthony Joshua which knocked him out of the bout completely.
As Anthony Joshua was declared winner of the bout, one thing was clear. Francis Ngannou definitely has the potentials to be an heavyweight boxing champion of the world but he still has a lot to learn and apply before he can challenge someone at Anthony Joshua’s level.
Unlike Tyson Fury who allowed Francis Ngannou settle into the contest, Anthony Joshua showed Francis who owns the stage and hunted him like apex predator. He unsettled him so much that he could not follow his game plan.
Anthony Joshua did not allow Francis Ngannou the space and time he needed to turn the tie in his favour. He closed him down right from the start and pounded him till he was eventually knocked out of the contest.
Unlike Fury who allowed the bout go on for too long and got knocked down by a confident Francis Ngannou, Anthony Joshua was out to make sure that the fight is short and Ngannou is knocked out before he becomes a problem. He had a plan on that and it worked perfectly well.
The future may be bright for Francis Ngannou in the heavyweight boxing division but his bright start to his boxing career has been shutdown by a ruthless Anthony Joshua whose sight is set on reclaiming his lost titles.
