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

[TravelMug]

I doubt that he underestimated Anthony Joshua. I believe what really happen is we overestimated him thinking he has a shot on beating a real pro boxer AJ. He was there because of the hype, we bought it and we believe he can win, when actually he is not a championship caliber fighter, he is just a newbie in boxing. I know he is good back in UFC, but that does not automatically make him great in boxing as well.

  People thought Francis will be able to hold off Aj, same way he did Fury. Boxing can be an  unpredictable game, a game where title holders can lose to the underdogs in the case of Anthony Joshua and Francis, I feel like Aj was underestimated in the fight, they didn’t expect the match to take that quick turn of Aj winning by knockout. Now people will know that the UFC is way different from Boxing. Its training is more intensive compared to UFC game. Francis Ngannou  need to consider switching Into boxing. Aj even encouraged he doesn’t give up on his boxing aspiration.  Despite his lost he still  cashout in his ends.
   Personally I think Francis will excel in boxing if he focus on the game, he has the physique  and of course the strength, at least we can’t deny that he has those qualities, he his an amazing athlete and if he keep his mind right and ready he can face any opponent thrown at him.

AJ was underestimated? Only a casual fan in the sport with zero to little knowledge will underestimate AJ's chances against Ngannou. I want Ngannou to win against AJ but I did not bet. For the knowledgeable fans, it is very hard to imagine a well-trained high ranked losing to Ngannou. These pros spent years since they were kids enhancing their skills and gaining experience.

But in the first place, Francis is just into boxing to cash out that can set his financial freedom. Surviving, scoring a knock down and losing close to Fury was a bonus. I am glad Ngannou earned around $30 million in just 2 fights. He deserved it. He can retire for good and help grow PFL.

It won't stop this kind of fights though, know we have Tyson vs Jake Paul. And we have seen the Suga Sean O’Malley calling out Ryan Garcia. So there is this blue print for UFC fighters calling out professional boxers to make a lot of money, money that they can't earn under Dana White even if they are the best fighters in their organizations. Conor proved it already and now seems to be semi-retired because of the biggest paycheck he received from Floyd. Same with Francis, he can go back to PFL, but he might fight another HW for this retirement, could be rematch with anyone of the HW as I think Francis could still have some hype even if he loses to AJ this way.

[Natalim]

Joshua vs Fury has never happened yet, if Fury lost to Usyk, it's reasonable to see Joshua and Fury fight.
I have the feeling Fury will lose against Usyk by KO. It will be sad for Fury fans to see his record have 1 loss and perhaps 2 if he fights AJ too.

You have your own opinion on that but I don't actually see it's gonna happen. Fury is good in making adjustment and he will not allow to lose by KO. He might not be a KO artist like AJ and Wilder, at least on their level but we saw how smart he is on his championship fights. I can't blame people not trusting him because of his physical appearance, I mean he doesn' have much muscles but this guy has a solid chin and has a power to KO his opponent.

There's truth to what they say that it's the punch you don't see coming that knocks you out. Francis didn't see the fist coming. The poll result is Francis Ngannou by KO, so many users must have bet for Francis to win.

I hope they're able to accept the defeat, LOL.. they ride the hype, can't blame them.

[Lannakosa]

It won't stop this kind of fights though, know we have Tyson vs Jake Paul. And we have seen the Suga Sean O’Malley calling out Ryan Garcia. So there is this blue print for UFC fighters calling out professional boxers to make a lot of money, money that they can't earn under Dana White even if they are the best fighters in their organizations. Conor proved it already and now seems to be semi-retired because of the biggest paycheck he received from Floyd. Same with Francis, he can go back to PFL, but he might fight another HW for this retirement, could be rematch with anyone of the HW as I think Francis could still have some hype even if he loses to AJ this way.

After such a fight, AJ may not agree to a rematch, and probably no one sees the point in it now, not even Ngannou. Although it was initially a matter of money, and Ngannou would rather have tried to negotiate a rematch with Fury, he had more chances in that fight.

Ngannou needs a little time to recover from such a defeat, and then I have no doubt that he will look for a fight for big money, although if you look at his fees for the last fight, Ngannou received $20 million. I think this fee alone is enough to stop thinking about rematches. Of course, no one wants to end their career with such a fight.

[yazher]

After such a fight, AJ may not agree to a rematch, and probably no one sees the point in it now, not even Ngannou. Although it was initially a matter of money, and Ngannou would rather have tried to negotiate a rematch with Fury, he had more chances in that fight.

Well, if they still gonna give him another chance to fight Fury, then he is the lucky guy right now because it's another huge opportunity for him to earn big money and also he will have a chance to regain back his honor if ever he gives Fury the best beating of his life while at the same time winning that fight. But we all know, that seems impossible right now especially since he already exposed his weakness to the world and surely Fury will use it against him if ever they fight once again in the future.

[Kelvinid]

After such a fight, AJ may not agree to a rematch, and probably no one sees the point in it now, not even Ngannou. Although it was initially a matter of money, and Ngannou would rather have tried to negotiate a rematch with Fury, he had more chances in that fight.

Well, if they still gonna give him another chance to fight Fury, then he is the lucky guy right now because it's another huge opportunity for him to earn big money and also he will have a chance to regain back his honor if ever he gives Fury the best beating of his life while at the same time winning that fight. But we all know, that seems impossible right now especially since he already exposed his weakness to the world and surely Fury will use it against him if ever they fight once again in the future.

As long as both can make a decent money, they could agree for a rematch. Especially for AJ, this should not be a problem as he already beat Ngannou once, easily.... So it is now depending on the promoter if they are willing to risk promoting a rematch without an assurance that they could still get the support of the fans like on their first meeting.

If I were to evaluate, I don't find it necessary anymore as surely the fans will not watch this knowing Ngannou will still lose again in KO.

Maybe give Ngannou a fight first, wait if he wins, then they can create this rematch as the hype is alive again.

[btc_angela]

After such a fight, AJ may not agree to a rematch, and probably no one sees the point in it now, not even Ngannou. Although it was initially a matter of money, and Ngannou would rather have tried to negotiate a rematch with Fury, he had more chances in that fight.

Well, if they still gonna give him another chance to fight Fury, then he is the lucky guy right now because it's another huge opportunity for him to earn big money and also he will have a chance to regain back his honor if ever he gives Fury the best beating of his life while at the same time winning that fight. But we all know, that seems impossible right now especially since he already exposed his weakness to the world and surely Fury will use it against him if ever they fight once again in the future.

Yeah, perhaps they will still milk Francis to the max here, in any case that Fury losses to Usyk, then maybe Ngannou vs Fury again, to make more money for both of this fighter. And as long as Francis is still well love by the boxing community, he can still look for another big paycheck here.

I do agree that Ngannou has been destroyed, but as per AJ advise he could continue to box. He can go back to PFL after this win and then chase who over is available for him. Would love to see him test Usyk or even Zhang or Parker.

[pawel7777]

I do agree that Ngannou has been destroyed, but as per AJ advise he could continue to box. He can go back to PFL after this win and then chase who over is available for him. Would love to see him test Usyk or even Zhang or Parker.

I think Ngannou's boxing adventure is most likely over. there's no way he would get contracted to fight any top boxers, a rematch with Fury is off the table now that he lost to AJ. Fury initially expressed his interest in fighting Francis again, but now it would be a horrible choice, and we'll probably see Tyson fighting AJ instead.
I think Francis is already aware of that and that's why he has a PFL fight scheduled for later in the year. But if he was serious about staying in boxing, he would need to defeat some slightly lower ranked opponent before getting a chance to fight the top guys again.

[OgNasty]

I do agree that Ngannou has been destroyed, but as per AJ advise he could continue to box. He can go back to PFL after this win and then chase who over is available for him. Would love to see him test Usyk or even Zhang or Parker.

I think Ngannou's boxing adventure is most likely over. there's no way he would get contracted to fight any top boxers, a rematch with Fury is off the table now that he lost to AJ. Fury initially expressed his interest in fighting Francis again, but now it would be a horrible choice, and we'll probably see Tyson fighting AJ instead.
I think Francis is already aware of that and that's why he has a PFL fight scheduled for later in the year. But if he was serious about staying in boxing, he would need to defeat some slightly lower ranked opponent before getting a chance to fight the top guys again.

I don’t see how he could go back to MMA after securing a $20,000,000 payday. I also don’t see how he could command that payday again after his last showing. The best thing for him to do is get some endorsements and live his life to the fullest without stepping foot back in a ring. I’m guessing he wants to keep fighting though.

[hilariousetc]

I do agree that Ngannou has been destroyed, but as per AJ advise he could continue to box. He can go back to PFL after this win and then chase who over is available for him. Would love to see him test Usyk or even Zhang or Parker.

I think Ngannou's boxing adventure is most likely over. there's no way he would get contracted to fight any top boxers, a rematch with Fury is off the table now that he lost to AJ. Fury initially expressed his interest in fighting Francis again, but now it would be a horrible choice, and we'll probably see Tyson fighting AJ instead.
I think Francis is already aware of that and that's why he has a PFL fight scheduled for later in the year. But if he was serious about staying in boxing, he would need to defeat some slightly lower ranked opponent before getting a chance to fight the top guys again.

I don’t see how he could go back to MMA after securing a $20,000,000 payday. I also don’t see how he could command that payday again after his last showing. The best thing for him to do is get some endorsements and live his life to the fullest without stepping foot back in a ring. I’m guessing he wants to keep fighting though.

He has to. He signed a deal with the PFL and also has equity in them so it's in his interests to promote them, but he's said his gameplan was always to do both. He might not have much motivation to fight in MMA given I believe his PFL guarantee is 2 million per fight, but I also think the price he commands will have fallen significantly after the bad AJ loss. Personally, I think his best option is to go blitz someone in the PFL and then fight another decent boxer, but maybe not one of the current top 5. I think a good boxing match for both parties would be Ngannou V Wilder. Wilder had a bad performance last against Jospeh Parker so will be wanting to get some of his mojo back and he's been pretty much cast-aside right now and doesn't really have anything to fight for so he might as well take the money whilst he can. I'd also like to see him rematch Fury but Fury will be tied up most of this year with the two Usyk fights and then I'm sure he will go for the AJ fight unless something stops that like AJ going for the third Usyk fight if Usyk still has the belts.

[teamsherry]

Never in a second thought Ngannou was going to be defeated in such a kindergarten manner by Anthony Joshua, even though i never really gave it to Joshua I had the conviction that peradventure he won he was going to feel it like he hit a rock for sure after the fight but the show was the opposite.

I had to repeated watch that Joshua's punch that knocked Ngannou off his feet as I was shock myself for someone that never expected things to go this way. I think Joshua seized the day and proved a better boxer dispelling all misgiving comparison  among fans. At least for now congrats champ...

Am not that surprised, because before the fight, I have already stated it here, that both fighters are from the same root, almost all the attributes of Ngannou, Anthony Joshua also possess it, so in as much as Ngannou have the power to give a knock out punch, Anthony Joshua also possess the power also.

Another thing about Ngannou is that the match against wilder, I just felt like he was underated, so wilder took him lightly compared to Anthony Joshua, so congratulations to Anthony Joshua for showing him that has a lot to learn.

Right from before this event I was thinking it would be a very tough fight for Joshua but after watching it my view changed, Anthony had power punched this milf with some hard-core knock down punches that he needed oxygen to survive.

Well I expected this from Joshua, it's not the first time he is showing this much strength and having a flawless win like this one.

[Fatunad]

Never in a second thought Ngannou was going to be defeated in such a kindergarten manner by Anthony Joshua, even though i never really gave it to Joshua I had the conviction that peradventure he won he was going to feel it like he hit a rock for sure after the fight but the show was the opposite.

I had to repeated watch that Joshua's punch that knocked Ngannou off his feet as I was shock myself for someone that never expected things to go this way. I think Joshua seized the day and proved a better boxer dispelling all misgiving comparison  among fans. At least for now congrats champ...

Am not that surprised, because before the fight, I have already stated it here, that both fighters are from the same root, almost all the attributes of Ngannou, Anthony Joshua also possess it, so in as much as Ngannou have the power to give a knock out punch, Anthony Joshua also possess the power also.

Another thing about Ngannou is that the match against wilder, I just felt like he was underated, so wilder took him lightly compared to Anthony Joshua, so congratulations to Anthony Joshua for showing him that has a lot to learn.

Right from before this event I was thinking it would be a very tough fight for Joshua but after watching it my view changed, Anthony had power punched this milf with some hard-core knock down punches that he needed oxygen to survive.

Well I expected this from Joshua, it's not the first time he is showing this much strength and having a flawless win like this one.

That was a total humiliation on which even on that Round 1 knock out on which i do really have that kind of question in my mind on how the heck Ngannou wont be able to judge that one?
He had put up his guard up with both hands but that straight jab did really push through into his face and knock him out. You could really see the power is there on which that
was really that flawless from AJ. On the next one on which he had made out that dominating KO which Ngannou flips out. 

This is some side comment from Fury.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZYJk05OtMg
'YOU GOT COCKY & GOT KNOCKED OUT' - TYSON FURY REACTS TO ANTHONY JOSHUA DESTROYING FRANCIS NGANNOU

[Kemarit]

^^ I think you can expect that from Fury, I mean Ngannou give Fury one hell of a fight and others says that Francis did enough to win. And even in the press conference, Fury is there and trying to play mind games with Ngannou and I think we all heard what Francis said.

Yes, he can go back to PFL as this is what the contract is,

Ngannou inked an unprecedented contract with PFL this past week after making history by departing the UFC as its reigning heavyweight champion. The disclosed terms of the deal include concessions that give Ngannou equity in the company plus a role on the PFL board of directors, make him the chairman of PFL’s expansion into Africa, give him the freedom to box and pursue his own sponsors, as well as a provide guaranteed $2 million purses for each of Ngannou’s PFL opponents. Ngannou is expected to make his promotional debut for PFL in 2024 after pursuing his pro boxing debut in the second half of 2023.

https://www.mmafighting.com/2023/5/21/23731580/dana-white-rips-into-francis-ngannou-pfl-over-historic-deal-it-makes-no-sense-to-me

[Japinat]

This is some side comment from Fury.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZYJk05OtMg
'YOU GOT COCKY & GOT KNOCKED OUT' - TYSON FURY REACTS TO ANTHONY JOSHUA DESTROYING FRANCIS NGANNOU

Fury has always somethin to say. It's pretty normal to him but we can't criticize on him since until now he is still undefeate despite not having an impressive win over Ngannou, but now that it seems Ngannou is already out of the conversation, then it will him (Fury) and AJ that we might be talking in the future if Fury will be successful in defeating Usyk which many of us here think would not happen.

[notblox1]

He has to. He signed a deal with the PFL and also has equity in them so it's in his interests to promote them, but he's said his gameplan was always to do both. He might not have much motivation to fight in MMA given I believe his PFL guarantee is 2 million per fight, but I also think the price he commands will have fallen significantly after the bad AJ loss. Personally, I think his best option is to go blitz someone in the PFL and then fight another decent boxer, but maybe not one of the current top 5. I think a good boxing match for both parties would be Ngannou V Wilder. Wilder had a bad performance last against Jospeh Parker so will be wanting to get some of his mojo back and he's been pretty much cast-aside right now and doesn't really have anything to fight for so he might as well take the money whilst he can. I'd also like to see him rematch Fury but Fury will be tied up most of this year with the two Usyk fights and then I'm sure he will go for the AJ fight unless something stops that like AJ going for the third Usyk fight if Usyk still has the belts.

This was the first time that someone came outside from boxing world and had fights with two boxing champions directly.
I think you are right to say that he should not fight against top boxing fighters anymore, and it takes time to improve skills and recover mentally and physically.
Wilder vs Ngannou would be interesting to watch, but I think one of them would end up on floor early, maybe Ngannou again.

[TopTort777]

Instead I would better watch Ngannou having mma fight. I am more interested to see if he still has that "mma skill" or turning into boxing changed his style. According to wiki, his next fight in mma would be against Renan Ferreira who has knocked out Ryan Bader in 21 sec of first round. Ferreiras record is also impressive 11 KOes in 13 wins. Perhaps next time Ngannou will end up on the floor early will be the octagon floor.

[Yaunfitda]

Instead I would better watch Ngannou having mma fight. I am more interested to see if he still has that "mma skill" or turning into boxing changed his style. According to wiki, his next fight in mma would be against Renan Ferreira who has knocked out Ryan Bader in 21 sec of first round. Ferreiras record is also impressive 11 KOes in 13 wins. Perhaps next time Ngannou will end up on the floor early will be the octagon floor.

And it also added that Francis chin has been broken already so maybe his aura of invincibility is gone as far as MMA goes and whoever his opponent will be will target that chin and obviously is going to test Francis now and most likely they won't be intimidated by it. On the contrary they will used that knockout against him, MMA has a lot of trash talkers as well so maybe Renan Ferreira as part of the psyche war. Not sure when is the date of his next fight. Probably Francis is just healing after that devastating lost from the hands of AJ. But we will see if he still has it, or if AJ took his soul already.

[Kelvinid]

Instead I would better watch Ngannou having mma fight. I am more interested to see if he still has that "mma skill" or turning into boxing changed his style. According to wiki, his next fight in mma would be against Renan Ferreira who has knocked out Ryan Bader in 21 sec of first round. Ferreiras record is also impressive 11 KOes in 13 wins. Perhaps next time Ngannou will end up on the floor early will be the octagon floor.

And it also added that Francis chin has been broken already so maybe his aura of invincibility is gone as far as MMA goes and whoever his opponent will be will target that chin and obviously is going to test Francis now and most likely they won't be intimidated by it. On the contrary they will used that knockout against him, MMA has a lot of trash talkers as well so maybe Renan Ferreira as part of the psyche war. Not sure when is the date of his next fight. Probably Francis is just healing after that devastating lost from the hands of AJ. But we will see if he still has it, or if AJ took his soul already.

We can't underestimate his skills in MMA. In fact, we should be amaze with his performance in boxing which is not his main sport. Lots of popular MMA fighters that are not doing good in boxing, just like McGregor, when he fought Mayweather he doesn't look like he has a chance, at least Ngannou were able to amaze the world giving Fury a hard fight that resulted to a controversial decision.

[inthelongrun]

As Dana White put it,

“You know how I feel about crossovers into boxing,” White told reporters following UFC 299 in Miami. “That’s how they end. Just like that.”

https://www.boxingscene.com/dana-white-s-how-crossovers-into-boxing-end--182037

@inthelongrun - I do agree, I think if you are really a boxing fan, we all know that at some point, the skills of AJ as boxer will take over.

However, I don't think that this will stop though, those MMA fighters crossing over and making a ton of money like what Francis got in only 2 fights as a pro boxer. And we have the classic example of Floyd vs Conor as the first cross over fights that generated tons of money to a MMA fighter.

Yeah, maybe Ngannou has a better chance of winning against Wilder because that guy has little skills in boxing.

Dana White is right, former UFC fighters crossing into a different sport ended like that. They ended up becoming multi-millionaires. Who cares about losing in another sport for a big payday. It's like Lebron James losing to Lionel Messi in a soccer exhibition game. No shame in that IMO. It only bring shame on Dana and his partners for keeping the huge part of UFC revenue.

Until UFC stars are not getting the same level of revenue share boxers are getting, it won't stop them from wanting to crossover.

[Maslate]

Yeah, maybe Ngannou has a better chance of winning against Wilder because that guy has little skills in boxing.

If Wilder will not train hard, then maybe. But in case Wilder will be back, I'm sure he will train hard because he was coming from a loss, a huge upset. it was suppose to be Wilder vs AJ but Wilder said good bye early. LOL...

I don't know if Francis will still return in boxing after that embarrassing loss.

Dana White is right, former UFC fighters crossing into a different sport ended like that. They ended up becoming multi-millionaires. Who cares about losing in another sport for a big payday. It's like Lebron James losing to Lionel Messi in a soccer exhibition game. No shame in that IMO. It only bring shame on Dana and his partners for keeping the huge part of UFC revenue.

Until UFC stars are not getting the same level of revenue share boxers are getting, it won't stop them from wanting to crossover.

They were there for the money in the first place. Fighters are more practical now, they understand that it's a short term career, so they will find a way to maximize their earning. And since exhibition fights are already accepted now, it has become normal already and people will not criticize.

[Marykeller]

I doubt that he underestimated Anthony Joshua. I believe what really happen is we overestimated him thinking he has a shot on beating a real pro boxer AJ. He was there because of the hype, we bought it and we believe he can win, when actually he is not a championship caliber fighter, he is just a newbie in boxing. I know he is good back in UFC, but that does not automatically make him great in boxing as well.

  People thought Francis will be able to hold off Aj, same way he did Fury. Boxing can be an  unpredictable game, a game where title holders can lose to the underdogs in the case of Anthony Joshua and Francis, I feel like Aj was underestimated in the fight, they didn’t expect the match to take that quick turn of Aj winning by knockout. Now people will know that the UFC is way different from Boxing. Its training is more intensive compared to UFC game. Francis Ngannou  need to consider switching Into boxing. Aj even encouraged he doesn’t give up on his boxing aspiration.  Despite his lost he still  cashout in his ends.
   Personally I think Francis will excel in boxing if he focus on the game, he has the physique  and of course the strength, at least we can’t deny that he has those qualities, he his an amazing athlete and if he keep his mind right and ready he can face any opponent thrown at him.

For sure, Ngannou will excel in boxing with time, if puts his mind to it, at least he now knows that boxing is not only by physical strength alone but by the way one applies their defense and tactics they use to attack their opponent.

A boxer doesn't go into a fight against their opponent with a defenseless method, hoping to win them by that. That's the mistake Ngannou made to fight Anthony Joshua who is fast and tactical in boxing.

I don't think Ngannou studied Anthony Joshua's fighting skills. That was why was beaten up like an amateur boxer, he came into boxing newly.