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

[Fundamentals Of]

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.

It's not going to be a copy-paste. If that powerful Ngannou punch landed on Joshua, it would have been a totally different script forward. In fact it could have been the end. Fury doesn't really have that strong chin. He can be knocked down. Perhaps what he's got is a strong brain or a strong skull because he doesn't seem to feel dizzy or a lack of balance after being knocked down. He cannot absorb the impact because he actually goes down but he seems to easily absorb the effects of the impact. This is something poor AJ doesn't have.

[TopTort777]

Maybe you are right, because in last two fights, Ngannou managed to surprise me. I have expected him to be clumsy in the ring, to be more snail-paced, but he showed good boxing, good timing, leg movement. Usually guys from mma dont move like that, because they avoid one or double leg takedown. He has surprised in his last mma fight. I have expected him to do pressure and power punches, instead he wrestled more. We expect him to knockout AJ, but he might instead do (or try, as this tactics work) Usyk-style - spam with punches and win by points.

[Dave1]

Francis Ngannou training for body shots

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ucZPe9MMUkc

His trainer might be thinking that Joshua will go on the body more early and try to test if Francis can handle that body blows as we have seen Fury didn't used this strategy early and just really aim at the head of Francis and that's why he was caught and getting knock down. So let's see if Joshua will go to the body, but Francis is prepared with those solid balls hitting that body.

[Fundamentals Of]

Francis Ngannou training for body shots

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ucZPe9MMUkc

His trainer might be thinking that Joshua will go on the body more early and try to test if Francis can handle that body blows as we have seen Fury didn't used this strategy early and just really aim at the head of Francis and that's why he was caught and getting knock down. So let's see if Joshua will go to the body, but Francis is prepared with those solid balls hitting that body.

This is probably what the team of Joshua is thinking. I also think Joshua should try to focus on Ngannou's body and weaken him. Joshua needs to  take that air out of Ngannou. Ngannou has a small air tank. Focusing on the body would make it lose a lot faster. Rather than hunt Ngannou's head which doesn't really reduce his power, it is probably better to weaken him. Ngannou's power may remain but he would be throwing those powerful punches much slower, making them easier for Joshua to dodge.

[pawel7777]

The PFL announced (as a BREAKING NEWS) that Francis will return to MMA and will face the winner of Renan Ferriera vs Ryan Bader fight:
https://bloodyelbow.com/2024/02/22/francis-ngannous-first-pfl-fight/

PFL's tweet:
https://twitter.com/PFLMMA/status/1760729268596920462

Is it a sign that Ngannou doesn't have high hopes for his boxing career - I don't know. But apparently, his PFL contract doesn't prevent him from competing in boxing. So maybe he intends to compete in both sports simultaneously, or maybe his return to MMA is contingent on the result of his fight against AJ.

[LFC_Bitcoin]

The fight promo trailer is epic, it looks like a movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOHS1ajTmdA

I’m expecting AJ should have an easier time than Fury did against Ngannou. I’m expecting a knockout from AJ in this fight.


sportsbet.io odds @ https://sportsbet.io/sports/event/boxing/international/international-matchups/joshua-anthony-v-ngannou-francis-65988f077c9c2400015fdb47

[Jating]

And to hype the fight even more,



https://twitter.com/MichaelBensonn/status/1762937878483448143

Not sure if someone will try to play this game or not. But if you are interest, you can see the link here, both in English and Arabic: https://www.knockoutchaos.com/.

And my result? I pick Joshua to win, however, Ngannou knock me out, 

[notblox1]

Not sure if someone will try to play this game or not. But if you are interest, you can see the link here, both in English and Arabic: https://www.knockoutchaos.com/.

I love it 
This game looks like those old retro games, and I think they could add few more controls and different type of punches, but this is another great way for promoting this fight.
I picked Ngannou and I lost from Joshua, but I am getting better with every new try.

[Distinctin]

The fight promo trailer is epic, it looks like a movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOHS1ajTmdA

I’m expecting AJ should have an easier time than Fury did against Ngannou. I’m expecting a knockout from AJ in this fight.

I click the link but the video no longer exist, but I search again and I found this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MhhsTcKg34

nice trailer, this started with Francis vs Fury and they never failed to amazed us, whoever is making this, it's a good way for marketing purposes.
Great job!

sportsbet.io odds @ https://sportsbet.io/sports/event/boxing/international/international-matchups/joshua-anthony-v-ngannou-francis-65988f077c9c2400015fdb47

Thanks. I'm sticking with AJ here, would not change my decision although Ngannou could knock him cold.

[Queentoshi]

Thanks. I'm sticking with AJ here, would not change my decision although Ngannou could knock him cold.

AJ has experience on his side, but that experience will be tested against Francis. The date of the fight draws nearer, and I can only imagine the kind of tension and pressure mounting on both fighters. AJ has seen his better days in boxing I believe, but the better days of Francis are still yet to come. Francis first fight against Tyson Fury is enough mental preparation for the fight against AJ because Fury is even a more skilled and stronger fighter than AJ. AJ will not win easily on March 9th.

[Finestream]

Thanks. I'm sticking with AJ here, would not change my decision although Ngannou could knock him cold.

AJ has experience on his side, but that experience will be tested against Francis. The date of the fight draws nearer, and I can only imagine the kind of tension and pressure mounting on both fighters. AJ has seen his better days in boxing I believe, but the better days of Francis are still yet to come. Francis first fight against Tyson Fury is enough mental preparation for the fight against AJ because Fury is even a more skilled and stronger fighter than AJ. AJ will not win easily on March 9th.

The pressure on AJ is more significant than on Francis since he is not a natural boxer and is just starting his journey in the heavyweight division. The reason why he is in this position is due to his impressive showing in his previous fight against Fury. I think the outcome of this fight will determine if Francis truly has the potential to become a champion. As a former champion, AJ understands how much is at stake, and he wouldn't allow Francis to be a hindrance to his goal of becoming a champion again.

The hype is still high, and it seems like the public is favoring Francis to win. They can't be blamed, though, as Francis was able to knock down Fury, who is arguably considered the best in this division and that indicates how dangerous Francis is.

[cabron]

The fight promo trailer is epic, it looks like a movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOHS1ajTmdA

I’m expecting AJ should have an easier time than Fury did against Ngannou. I’m expecting a knockout from AJ in this fight.

I click the link but the video no longer exist, but I search again and I found this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MhhsTcKg34

nice trailer, this started with Francis vs Fury and they never failed to amazed us, whoever is making this, it's a good way for marketing purposes.
Great job!

Ngannou I think is the strongest puncher that AJ will encounter, I doubt this will end in a Draw but if the fight result is a draw, I would really think Sky Sports posted this video as a message and it can only mean one thing, it's rigged.

Ruiz made him so underdog and you can compare how Ngannou can easily knock Ruiz down with one hit on the head no sweat. Ngannou is a better fighter and stronger fighter than Ruiz.

The odds however is just not making sense.
AJ 1.22 vs NGannou 4.00

[Japinat]

The fight promo trailer is epic, it looks like a movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOHS1ajTmdA

I’m expecting AJ should have an easier time than Fury did against Ngannou. I’m expecting a knockout from AJ in this fight.

I click the link but the video no longer exist, but I search again and I found this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MhhsTcKg34

nice trailer, this started with Francis vs Fury and they never failed to amazed us, whoever is making this, it's a good way for marketing purposes.
Great job!

Ngannou I think is the strongest puncher that AJ will encounter, I doubt this will end in a Draw but if the fight result is a draw, I would really think Sky Sports posted this video as a message and it can only mean one thing, it's rigged.

It will be the strongest if Ngannou is able to hit Joshua. AJ knows that if he gets hit, he might not be able to stand up, so it's foolish of him to let that happen. What I see here is that AJ will use his boxing skills, probably his quickness against Ngannou, and will tire him out throughout the entire rounds. AJ also has a high KO rate, but he can't take chances trying to look for a knockout, as there's a risk he will be caught with Ngannou's counter.

Ngannou's fight vs Fury was impressive, but the latter said he didn't prepare for the fight properly. So AJ surely will not say the same since he is up for ranking, so he'll give his 100% to get an impressive win.

Ruiz made him so underdog and you can compare how Ngannou can easily knock Ruiz down with one hit on the head no sweat. Ngannou is a better fighter and stronger fighter than Ruiz.

The odds however is just not making sense.
AJ 1.22 vs NGannou 4.00

FYI, AJ was listed as favorites on their 2 fights. First fight Ruiz upset AJ but on the 2nd fight he beat AJ.
You can check that on his record https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/659461

Regarding the odds, there's nothing wrong with that IMO .However if you feel that NGannou is underestimated with 4.00 odds, might as well take it and bet.

[btc_angela]

Thanks. I'm sticking with AJ here, would not change my decision although Ngannou could knock him cold.

AJ has experience on his side, but that experience will be tested against Francis. The date of the fight draws nearer, and I can only imagine the kind of tension and pressure mounting on both fighters. AJ has seen his better days in boxing I believe, but the better days of Francis are still yet to come. Francis first fight against Tyson Fury is enough mental preparation for the fight against AJ because Fury is even a more skilled and stronger fighter than AJ. AJ will not win easily on March 9th.

The pressure on AJ is more significant than on Francis since he is not a natural boxer and is just starting his journey in the heavyweight division. The reason why he is in this position is due to his impressive showing in his previous fight against Fury. I think the outcome of this fight will determine if Francis truly has the potential to become a champion. As a former champion, AJ understands how much is at stake, and he wouldn't allow Francis to be a hindrance to his goal of becoming a champion again.

He has should that he could really be a good boxer, he has the natural talent to be one. Just imagine though if Francis at the young age started to box and developed to be a great professional boxer. But here we are, we will witnessed after this first fight against Fury, if Fury can sustain his good showing against Joshua. Although we have seen the he is a big underdog again.

The hype is still high, and it seems like the public is favoring Francis to win. They can't be blamed, though, as Francis was able to knock down Fury, who is arguably considered the best in this division and that indicates how dangerous Francis is.

Yes, it's more of fans wanting him to put a upset here. The first time it was really close and there are pundits who see him winning against Fury. But against shall we shall a weaker opponents and which chin are suspected, fans wants to see him crush AJ and knock him out again.

[bbc.reporter]

The fight promo trailer is epic, it looks like a movie.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOHS1ajTmdA

I’m expecting AJ should have an easier time than Fury did against Ngannou. I’m expecting a knockout from AJ in this fight.

I click the link but the video no longer exist, but I search again and I found this one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MhhsTcKg34

nice trailer, this started with Francis vs Fury and they never failed to amazed us, whoever is making this, it's a good way for marketing purposes.
Great job!

Ngannou I think is the strongest puncher that AJ will encounter, I doubt this will end in a Draw but if the fight result is a draw, I would really think Sky Sports posted this video as a message and it can only mean one thing, it's rigged.

It will be the strongest if Ngannou is able to hit Joshua. AJ knows that if he gets hit, he might not be able to stand up, so it's foolish of him to let that happen. What I see here is that AJ will use his boxing skills, probably his quickness against Ngannou, and will tire him out throughout the entire rounds. AJ also has a high KO rate, but he can't take chances trying to look for a knockout, as there's a risk he will be caught with Ngannou's counter.

Ngannou's fight vs Fury was impressive, but the latter said he didn't prepare for the fight properly. So AJ surely will not say the same since he is up for ranking, so he'll give his 100% to get an impressive win.

Ruiz made him so underdog and you can compare how Ngannou can easily knock Ruiz down with one hit on the head no sweat. Ngannou is a better fighter and stronger fighter than Ruiz.

The odds however is just not making sense.
AJ 1.22 vs NGannou 4.00

FYI, AJ was listed as favorites on their 2 fights. First fight Ruiz upset AJ but on the 2nd fight he beat AJ.
You can check that on his record https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/659461

Regarding the odds, there's nothing wrong with that IMO .However if you feel that NGannou is underestimated with 4.00 odds, might as well take it and bet.

Agreed! The gamblers who want to bet on Francis Ngannou should be very happy to receive 4.00 odds from the oddsmakers. However, I also agree that Ngannou might be very underestimated for this fight. On Fury vs. Ngannou, I said Fury would put Ngannou on a stretcher and the stretcher will be pulled by Mike Tyson out of the ring. But after witnessing Ngannou's performance against Fury, it was a mistake to underestimate him and what are the oddsmakers doing on Ngannou again? Yes, they are underestimating him hehehehee. I reckon Joshua will not stand up if Ngannou connects.

[notblox1]

Few days left for the fight guys, better get your popcorns and beverages ready on time.
If Ngannou manages to win in dominant fashion I expect to see boxing world changed forever, maybe they will start to respect MMA fighters a lot more.
I watched the faceoff and Ngannou looked cooler to me, but better watch press conference and judge for yourself: https://youtu.be/VJd7ey52ZaY



Odds on Sportsbet are very juicy on Ngannou, but I dont think this fight is going long distance:
https://sportsbet.io/sports/event/boxing/international/international-matchups/joshua-anthony-v-ngannou-francis-65988f077c9c2400015fdb47

[pawel7777]

Not sure if someone will try to play this game or not. But if you are interest, you can see the link here, both in English and Arabic: https://www.knockoutchaos.com/.

Thanks for sharing. I had a go and managed to beat up Ngannou on the 2nd attempt.



That's an interesting way of promoting a fight, I don't think anyone has done it in the past. They could have done a little better with playability, i.e. add body shots etc.

Only two days to go and not much has changed in terms of odds, AJ is still the favourite at x1.27, and betting on Francis you can get x3.75 which is not that much really considering it's only his 2nd boxing fight.

Link to the press conference:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooj-jhIvNuI
Shorter version:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cm0cnP2rAa8

[Moreno233]

Maybe you are right, because in last two fights, Ngannou managed to surprise me. I have expected him to be clumsy in the ring, to be more snail-paced, but he showed good boxing, good timing, leg movement. Usually guys from mma dont move like that, because they avoid one or double leg takedown. He has surprised in his last mma fight. I have expected him to do pressure and power punches, instead he wrestled more. We expect him to knockout AJ, but he might instead do (or try, as this tactics work) Usyk-style - spam with punches and win by points.

If Anthony Joshua fails to win by knockout I doubt he will win by any other means because the coming match is an emotional one with many people surprisingly supporting Francis Ngannou this time. There support is a surprise because Anthony Joshua has always been the favorite of many people, the support has been instrumental to his successes even though he is very good at what he does. Now that emotions has creeped, many are saying that it is time for Francis Ngannou to also taste the fame. Is this strong enough to justify a support? I am looking forward to a very interesting match and may the best win.

[TopTort777]

Many support Ngannou mostly because of his fame. People evaluate those two by watching highlights. Of course Ngannou is discussed more, as we did not see any vicious knockouts from AJ. Also if we look on the base of AJ boxing, then we would find his is an Olympic boxer was originally. That kind of boxing is different from professional. Even though it is also aimed on knocking opponent out, but they win often by gaining points. Maybe this would help AJ to outbox Ngannou technically, but he wont survive clean punch like Fury did. As well as people suppet AJ because he is a national hero, who gon gold Olympic medal. That is imho a bigger recognition than UFC heavyweight.

[bbc.reporter]

Few days left for the fight guys, better get your popcorns and beverages ready on time.
If Ngannou manages to win in dominant fashion I expect to see boxing world changed forever, maybe they will start to respect MMA fighters a lot more.
I watched the faceoff and Ngannou looked cooler to me, but better watch press conference and judge for yourself: https://youtu.be/VJd7ey52ZaY



Odds on Sportsbet are very juicy on Ngannou, but I dont think this fight is going long distance:
https://sportsbet.io/sports/event/boxing/international/international-matchups/joshua-anthony-v-ngannou-francis-65988f077c9c2400015fdb47

Are you predicting that Ngannou will knockout Joshua? I reckon Anthony Joshua cannot knockout Ngannou heheheheeh.

@TopTort777. I disagree, Anthony Joshua is also very famous and more famous for boxing fans. This support is certainly because of Francis Ngannou's very shocking performance vs. Tyson Fury. These many fans have supported and predicted that Fury will win very quickly, however, we have witnessed something very different. Tyson Fury was the winner but it was considered an upset for the fans of Fury. Presently it appears that Ngannou is the underdog story in boxing where the many will easily support.