[Boxing] Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou - March 9

[Dave1]

^ I guess it just shows how corrupt WBC as a organizations, they will give all the favor to the any fighter that is the current hype on their body. Canelo has his way with them, not fighting his mandatory and choosing any fighter that he wants to fight without any repercussions.

So same here, for sure if Ngannou beats AJ he will be the poster boy of WBC and then fight the winner of Fury vs Usyk.

But if can only last as long as Francis won, specially in a spectacular manner against Joshua.

[ARTOIS]

Anthony Joshua is great boxer but I think the king of ko Francis will beat him

[pawel7777]

So same here, for sure if Ngannou beats AJ he will be the poster boy of WBC and then fight the winner of Fury vs Usyk.

Very possible but things can get complicated with mandatory title defences. I'm not sure about other organisations but IBF has hinted in the past that the winner of Usyk Vs Fury will have to face Filip Hrgovic immediately after, so no fights in between (including possible rematch).
Whether or not they'll stick to it and actually vacate the title if Usyk/Fury refuse to fight Hrgovic is a mystery. But I think that if  the money is right both of them wouldn't mind dropping the IBF title and maybe try to win it back in their own preferred time.

[TopTort777]

Very possible but things can get complicated with mandatory title defences.

It is bad that boxing is way more complicated than UFC. Yes my friend ? That UFC champs dont fight with other promotion champs We have a slightly similar situation. Fighters from other promotion or even other sports move to UFC and instantly get rather high position in rating. Chandler that moved from Bellator to UFC entered title race. Pereira who has moved from kickboxing to MMA very quickly got a title fight. The difference is that when they move, they at least have some fights till they enter rating. Not like 1 fight only and instantly among top10.

[Lannakosa]

Very possible but things can get complicated with mandatory title defences. I'm not sure about other organisations but IBF has hinted in the past that the winner of Usyk Vs Fury will have to face Filip Hrgovic immediately after, so no fights in between (including possible rematch).
Whether or not they'll stick to it and actually vacate the title if Usyk/Fury refuse to fight Hrgovic is a mystery. But I think that if  the money is right both of them wouldn't mind dropping the IBF title and maybe try to win it back in their own preferred time.

Now this is not a pressing issue for them, all attention is focused on the fight, which Fury is trying to push back by any means, the Gypsy King is cunning.

In the meantime, things have calmed down a bit around AJ's fight with Ngannou, and this is understandable, there was not very much interest in him initially, and now the hype with the appearance of Ngannou is also trying to get Emelianenko, who also wants to fight him. It seems that Ngannou has become a popular opponent that everyone wants to fight, and something tells me that it’s all about money.

[Japinat]

It seems that Ngannou has become a popular opponent that everyone wants to fight, and something tells me that it’s all about money.

Tyson Fury was a significant factor in his success. Due to their controversial fight, he is now getting big opportunities that long-time boxers work hard to secure, but Ngannou easily attains. He is also fighting a former champion now, considering AJ was a champ before. Winning here might open up more opportunities for him, and that means more financial gains. He's not going back to where he started since he is becoming a star in boxing already, if he is not considered a star yet.

[bittraffic]

Very possible but things can get complicated with mandatory title defences.

It is bad that boxing is way more complicated than UFC. Yes my friend ? That UFC champs dont fight with other promotion champs We have a slightly similar situation. Fighters from other promotion or even other sports move to UFC and instantly get rather high position in rating. Chandler that moved from Bellator to UFC entered title race. Pereira who has moved from kickboxing to MMA very quickly got a title fight. The difference is that when they move, they at least have some fights till they enter rating. Not like 1 fight only and instantly among top10.

Many have noticed this too like Pereira getting the title shot with just a few fights in UFC and it's not just Alex. Dana also favors Dagestanis in UFC.

WBC always involves itself in bringing some fighters to disrupt the order, I think because if they don't do this, those top fighters will just be waiting til the champ gets old and rusty. They bring Francis Ngannou because they want to see if a new breed can force these top fighters to fight each other. So this AJ vs Ngannou is happening.

But this could be the new normal soon, the Jake Paul shitshow started it.

[yazher]

Tyson Fury was a significant factor in his success. Due to their controversial fight, he is now getting big opportunities that long-time boxers work hard to secure, but Ngannou easily attains. He is also fighting a former champion now, considering AJ was a champ before. Winning here might open up more opportunities for him, and that means more financial gains. He's not going back to where he started since he is becoming a star in boxing already, if he is not considered a star yet.

We need to understand that Ngannou has generational talent and he is also in the heavyweight division which makes him unique he gives Fury a fight he could never forget because the judges saved his record on that fight. Between him and Joshua, he is stronger and this is an easy fight for Ngannou because he is eager to win in boxing he was not satisfied with the judge's decisions in his last fight which makes this fight even more interesting because he trained well to be able to secure the win and continue his popularity in the boxing industry especially in the middle east.

[Marykeller]

Anthony Joshua is great boxer but I think the king of ko Francis will beat him

Anthony Joshua Is putting a lot of effort into his preparation to fight Ngannou, so you can never be sure how the fight will turn out. He is aware of what is ahead of him when he agrees to take on Ngannou on March 9th, and he seems well-prepared.

I see a video of Anthony Joshua's most recent training. His massive build physique gives the impression that he could withstand Ngannou's pushes throughout the entire boxing match.

It's going to be a tough fight for both parties and the winner of it would be celebrated and made themselves more recognized and respected in the World Boxing Federation(WBF).

[hilariousetc]

(...) Fury might lose his belts soon but it seems Saudi was wanting Francis to fight the winner of Fury/Usyk so the belt could be on the line then, though I don't think it should be right now.

If Ngannou was to beat AJ, then I wouldn't mind him fighting with a winner of Fury Vs Usyk. Sure, it will probably be a record speed to become an undisputed champion in only 3 fights, and giving a novice such a chance sounds like a joke at first. But not giving him such an opportunity, after almost beating Tyson in his very first boxing fight and after defeating Tony, would make the whole sport look bad.
It's not a good look when a newcomer manhandles all the top stars and boxing organisations pretending nothing is happening making him build his record from scratch. Given his age, he would never be able to get a title fight the "normal" way.
AJ fight will confirm if Ngannou belongs in the top 10 or was his first fight just a fluke.

I'd love Francis to challenge for the belts eventually - assuming he actually starts officially beating people - but you really can't give him a title shot for his third fight. If Fury losses the belts I'm sure he will rematch Fury next, but I can't see Usyk fighting Francis and maybe Usyk will just vacate and/or retire the belts if he wins them.

i am seeing AJ get wrecked by Fancis.  even with that simple fight plan he had with Fury will already work with AJ. all he needs is to land big shots.

I'm sticking to the same thing I said for the Fury/Ngannou fight: I think either Francis gets a KO or AJ outboxes him and tires him out.

What now, if he beats AJ, he fights for the belt again?

I suspect Francis will have a MMA/PFL fight next, but not sure he would fight for a belt in boxing next, assuming he wins. He could rematch AJ or Fury (depending on his outcome), or maybe fight one of the mandatories that Fury/Usyk have to try prove himself and get himself on the ladder to eventually fight for a belt, but he needs to earn that right.

^ I guess it just shows how corrupt WBC as a organizations, they will give all the favor to the any fighter that is the current hype on their body. Canelo has his way with them, not fighting his mandatory and choosing any fighter that he wants to fight without any repercussions.

So same here, for sure if Ngannou beats AJ he will be the poster boy of WBC and then fight the winner of Fury vs Usyk.

But if can only last as long as Francis won, specially in a spectacular manner against Joshua.

It's all sanctioning bodies really. All they care about is their fees so it's in their interest to rank fighters so they can collect the sanctioning fees. They could have still put him in the top 50 or something without giving him a top ten.

[TopTort777]

Tyson Fury was a significant factor in his success. Due to their controversial fight, he is now getting big opportunities that long-time boxers work hard to secure, but Ngannou easily attains. He is also fighting a former champion now, considering AJ was a champ before. Winning here might open up more opportunities for him, and that means more financial gains. He's not going back to where he started since he is becoming a star in boxing already, if he is not considered a star yet.

We need to understand that Ngannou has generational talent and he is also in the heavyweight division which makes him unique he gives Fury a fight he could never forget because the judges saved his record on that fight. Between him and Joshua, he is stronger and this is an easy fight for Ngannou because he is eager to win in boxing he was not satisfied with the judge's decisions in his last fight which makes this fight even more interesting because he trained well to be able to secure the win and continue his popularity in the boxing industry especially in the middle east.

But you must also accept, there are large number of talented heavyweights, that are amateur boxers, do boxing only for themselves and did not aim to become professional boxers. Or are only low ranked and cant get high ranked opponents, because such guys like Ngannou came and in the line, and force them to wait for another 6 months before they can have a fight against highly ranked guy. Some dont have promotors. I am more than sure there are a lot of unknown boxers, who are better and stronger than Ngannou. But nobody knows them, and will never found out them, because there guys who pause their career.

How I see Ngannou. Kitchen, line of guys to get feeded. Everyone stand in a queue. Ngannou enters, goes to the start of the line and say "I am next", plus some powerful guy says "yes, he is next to eat". Most of the guys in line keep silent, because if they talk, they will get kicked. Is that fair? No.

[btc_angela]

Tyson Fury was a significant factor in his success. Due to their controversial fight, he is now getting big opportunities that long-time boxers work hard to secure, but Ngannou easily attains. He is also fighting a former champion now, considering AJ was a champ before. Winning here might open up more opportunities for him, and that means more financial gains. He's not going back to where he started since he is becoming a star in boxing already, if he is not considered a star yet.

We need to understand that Ngannou has generational talent and he is also in the heavyweight division which makes him unique he gives Fury a fight he could never forget because the judges saved his record on that fight. Between him and Joshua, he is stronger and this is an easy fight for Ngannou because he is eager to win in boxing he was not satisfied with the judge's decisions in his last fight which makes this fight even more interesting because he trained well to be able to secure the win and continue his popularity in the boxing industry especially in the middle east.

Not really sure what you mean by generational talent, but obviously he was gifted with that huge power that can knock everyone out, as he proved it in the case against Tyson Fury wherein he scored a knock down.

He wasn't able to sustain it though in the fight, he might get tired as it is a full 10 rounds and I think that will be one of AJ's strategy here. Avoid that power of Francis and have him tired in the championship rounds and AJ taking over and winning in the judges scorecard.

[Finestream]

Not really sure what you mean by generational talent, but obviously he was gifted with that huge power that can knock everyone out, as he proved it in the case against Tyson Fury wherein he scored a knock down.

He wasn't able to sustain it though in the fight, he might get tired as it is a full 10 rounds and I think that will be one of AJ's strategy here. Avoid that power of Francis and have him tired in the championship rounds and AJ taking over and winning in the judges scorecard.

That should be the strategy they need to employ since AJ can't afford to be careless and try to go toe to toe. It's not surprising for Fury to stand up after getting knocked down, but for AJ, he doesn't have that kind of reputation, so it's too risky for him. Ngannou, who is not a natural boxer, might struggle as the rounds get longer. We saw that in his first fight where he didn't throw a lot of punches, and Fury took advantage of that by throwing a lot of jabs.

[coin-investor]

The poll is very interesting as of now here is the result of the poll

Anthony Joshua by KO   - 4 (14.8%)
Anthony Joshua by decision   - 6 (22.2%)
Francis Ngannou by KO   - 15 (55.6%)
Francis Ngannou by decision   - 2 (7.4%)
Draw   - 0 (0%)
Total Voters: 27

The majority of the voters of this poll believe that Ngannou will knock out Joshua and that includes me, I still believe that Ngannou is on the right track in his training, and it seems Joshua's manager Hearns is fully aware that Ngannou is favored to win the match that he releases this statement, this is to make it appear that Joshua is in top shape and Ngannou is in big trouble.

Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou: Eddie Hearn Gives Update on AJ’s Shape, Warns Former MMA Star

I don't think this will scare Ngannou and its a bad tactic it will just motivate Ngannou to be at his best because Joshua has a lot of weaknesses, once he hurts Joshua, he will become timid and just become defensive just like what happened to his match against Ruiz and Usyk.
For the record, Ngannou was never been knocked down or seriously hurt in all his matches and I don't think Joshua is the first that will hurt him.

[Kemarit]

^^ Just typical for a promoter to say this kind of statement and it's either will backfire on them as Francis or someone from his camp reads it, might motivate them to knock Joshua out. Or AJ is really in good shape for this fight and will show it here.

We are entering the last week of February, and we all know that how time flies.

Francis Ngannou is still 4:1 underdog.

[coin-investor]

^^ Just typical for a promoter to say this kind of statement and it's either will backfire on them as Francis or someone from his camp reads it, might motivate them to knock Joshua out. Or AJ is really in good shape for this fight and will show it here.

We are entering the last week of February, and we all know that how time flies.

Francis Ngannou is still 4:1 underdog.

Joshua wants to be in the best shape of his fighting career because fighters that have floored and beaten him, Usyk and Ruiz their power is nothing compared to Ngannou's, and Joshua has no recovery power when hit by big punches, as shown on his fight against Ruiz where he spit his mouthpiece failed to response to the referee when asked if he wants to continue, he is easily frustrated and disoriented when hit by big punches.

Joshua may be the favorite in this fight but he has excess baggage brought on by three humiliating losses and Ngannou has nothing to lose because this is his second fight and he can always shift to MMA if something does not go according to his plan in boxing but for Joshua, if he losses the fight that could be the end of his career and it's going to be a tough climb, he cannot lose on this very important fight this is possibly his last chance to regain a heavyweight title and a chance to fight Fury for the title Greatest heavyweight champion of all time


JOSHUA CLAIMS NGANNOU IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE OF HIS LIFE

[TopTort777]

Who cares in what shapes AJ is, when his biggest problem is his mental preparation to a fight. What is AJ biggest achievement since he regained his title from Ruiz? Top10 WBO Pulev? Or top9 WBA Franklin? Ranked 8th in IBF Wallin? The fact that he has won 3 fights after 2 losses to Usyk, who he admited he does not understand how to beat, does not make him prepared for a hungry shark like Ngannou. Cant say that AJ is great boxing technician. Probably their fight is going to be a copy/paste of Fury vs Ngannou, despite AJ not having chin out of stone.

[aioc]

Who cares in what shapes AJ is, when his biggest problem is his mental preparation to a fight. What is AJ biggest achievement since he regained his title from Ruiz? Top10 WBO Pulev? Or top9 WBA Franklin? Ranked 8th in IBF Wallin? The fact that he has won 3 fights after 2 losses to Usyk, who he admited he does not understand how to beat, does not make him prepared for a hungry shark like Ngannou. Cant say that AJ is great boxing technician. Probably their fight is going to be a copy/paste of Fury vs Ngannou, despite AJ not having chin out of stone.

I agree Joshua has a mental issue he was exposed in the Ruiz fight, it's hard to accept an undisputed champion to just give up the fight just like that, a true warrior will fight even if he gets knocked out he will fight to the end and will always believe that he can beat his opponent and that he only needs one clear shot, and on Usyk fights after he losses he acted like a child very unusual for a boxer of his stature.
A weak fighter pretending to be a strong fighter will always get exposed when a much stronger fighter comes out to hurt him, come fight night Ngannou will hurt him.

[Natalim]

Who cares in what shapes AJ is, when his biggest problem is his mental preparation to a fight. What is AJ biggest achievement since he regained his title from Ruiz? Top10 WBO Pulev? Or top9 WBA Franklin? Ranked 8th in IBF Wallin? The fact that he has won 3 fights after 2 losses to Usyk, who he admited he does not understand how to beat, does not make him prepared for a hungry shark like Ngannou. Cant say that AJ is great boxing technician. Probably their fight is going to be a copy/paste of Fury vs Ngannou, despite AJ not having chin out of stone.

I agree Joshua has a mental issue he was exposed in the Ruiz fight, it's hard to accept an undisputed champion to just give up the fight just like that, a true warrior will fight even if he gets knocked out he will fight to the end and will always believe that he can beat his opponent and that he only needs one clear shot, and on Usyk fights after he losses he acted like a child very unusual for a boxer of his stature.
A weak fighter pretending to be a strong fighter will always get exposed when a much stronger fighter comes out to hurt him, come fight night Ngannou will hurt him.

He was a champion, but there's no guarantee that a fighter will remain a champion; only a few have done that. AJ may have suffered a defeat from Ortiz, but in the rematch, he was able to reclaim himself, and that is more important. I think the champion that really has a rough journey now is Wilder because he lost to an unknown boxer, while AJ here is trying to get back to the top and is taking this journey to make that happen.

[pawel7777]

I'd love Francis to challenge for the belts eventually - assuming he actually starts officially beating people - but you really can't give him a title shot for his third fight. If Fury losses the belts I'm sure he will rematch Fury next, but I can't see Usyk fighting Francis and maybe Usyk will just vacate and/or retire the belts if he wins them.

I don't know. That's a tough spot to be in. On one hand, if Francis defeats AJ, it'd make sense to make him fight one or two more fights before granting him the title fight.
But what happens if Fury beats Usyk, agrees for a rematch with Francis (for a non title fight) and loses. That would render any belts useless in the eyes of boxing fans. It's probably less risky to acknowledge Ngannou as some sort one-in-a-million boxing prodigy and fast-track him to the title shot than pretend he doesn't exist.