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

[TopTort777]

That is why boxing has rank system, ratings and etc. Otherwise any good unknown boxer would come, defeat everyone and sponsors gonna lose their “champion is promoting us” thing. It is not enough to simply be good. You must be good and be high in rank. So far Ngannou is unranked. Btw, Ngannou does not deserve to be a champion.  Simply because he has skipped all that “path to face champion”. He did not fight other contenders. And it is to late for him to do that.

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[Kemarit]

That is why boxing has rank system, ratings and etc. Otherwise any good unknown boxer would come, defeat everyone and sponsors gonna lose their “champion is promoting us” thing. It is not enough to simply be good. You must be good and be high in rank. So far Ngannou is unranked. Btw, Ngannou does not deserve to be a champion.  Simply because he has skipped all that “path to face champion”. He did not fight other contenders. And it is to late for him to do that.

I think it just carry his reputation from MMA/UFC and that's why he was able to skipped all the necessaries "path to the champion", as he is a champion on the other discipline. And boxing bodies approved of his fight to Tyson Fury, so he maybe unranked for now, but with his experienced on a similar sports, he was given that green life to be a professional boxer.

Besides, he was a star himself, could generated and put people to buy tickets and live gates and it was evident with this fight with Tyson Fury. And now he has been given this opportunity to fight Joshua and who knows, he could pull a upset here.

[TopTort777]

That is why boxing has rank system, ratings and etc. Otherwise any good unknown boxer would come, defeat everyone and sponsors gonna lose their “champion is promoting us” thing. It is not enough to simply be good. You must be good and be high in rank. So far Ngannou is unranked. Btw, Ngannou does not deserve to be a champion.  Simply because he has skipped all that “path to face champion”. He did not fight other contenders. And it is to late for him to do that.

I think it just carry his reputation from MMA/UFC and that's why he was able to skipped all the necessaries "path to the champion", as he is a champion on the other discipline. And boxing bodies approved of his fight to Tyson Fury, so he maybe unranked for now, but with his experienced on a similar sports, he was given that green life to be a professional boxer.

Besides, he was a star himself, could generated and put people to buy tickets and live gates and it was evident with this fight with Tyson Fury. And now he has been given this opportunity to fight Joshua and who knows, he could pull a upset here.

Lets imagine a situation. You are an employee in a large company. You have worked your career from "bring this, help there guy", through simple bookkeeper to head of department. Now you are about to become CFO. But, all of a sudden appears a guy, who has worked behind cashdesk at the shop and tell you to wait. Because "he has also worked with money". Would it be fair?

Anyway, if Ngannou wins, I would be disappointed with AJ. If after the fight Ngannou gets some privileges, all of a sudden becomes an obligatory title contender, I would be disappointed with boxing federation.

[TravelMug]

That is why boxing has rank system, ratings and etc. Otherwise any good unknown boxer would come, defeat everyone and sponsors gonna lose their “champion is promoting us” thing. It is not enough to simply be good. You must be good and be high in rank. So far Ngannou is unranked. Btw, Ngannou does not deserve to be a champion.  Simply because he has skipped all that “path to face champion”. He did not fight other contenders. And it is to late for him to do that.

I think it just carry his reputation from MMA/UFC and that's why he was able to skipped all the necessaries "path to the champion", as he is a champion on the other discipline. And boxing bodies approved of his fight to Tyson Fury, so he maybe unranked for now, but with his experienced on a similar sports, he was given that green life to be a professional boxer.

Besides, he was a star himself, could generated and put people to buy tickets and live gates and it was evident with this fight with Tyson Fury. And now he has been given this opportunity to fight Joshua and who knows, he could pull a upset here.

Anyway, if Ngannou wins, I would be disappointed with AJ. If after the fight Ngannou gets some privileges, all of a sudden becomes an obligatory title contender, I would be disappointed with boxing federation.

Well we have been disappointed with boxing federations for many years, and even to promoters who didn't bring the fight that we want as boxing fans, due to politics, corruption and other factors. So this is no exception, they have given Francis some privileges and it's obvious because of the money involved, and all this federation and promoters who will get those chunk of money. Saudi is now becoming the haven of boxing, with them having billions at their disposal. And promoters are drooling over it that rivals Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn has set aside their war and politics and have been staging huge money fight in the Middle East. Just like what we are going to witness, Saudi wanted to held this fight, Ngannou's name is now on top of the HW division and so this federation and promoters will have to deliver it.

[FinneysTrueVision]

Seriously? Are these individuals composed of mma fans and voters with little boxing knowledge? Anyhow, only wager small sums or do not wager at all in this match because you will see the absolute annihilation of Ngannou.

Ngannou is simply riding his fame in light of his contested loss to Fury. But in my opinion, he cannot win a boxing match even at the degree of Joshua which is inferior compared to Fury. Joshua will have great preparations because in his mentality he can demonstrate that he can be better than Fury.

Ngannou left a good impression against Fury, who is considered the best heavyweight in the world. Joshua isn't as good as Fury and has a glass chin so they are basing their predictions on simple logic. What isn't being considered is that going into his fight with Fury, Ngannou had never boxed before so we didn't know his strengths and weaknesses. Now that Ngannou has some experience, Joshua has some footage to study and he also knows what mistakes Fury made in his preparation, or lack thereof.

I am not so confident that Ngannou gets annihilated. Most people thought the same thing about Andy Ruiz. Ruiz shocked the world and AJ has never really been the same since. I think the odds are about where they should be. AJ is rightfully favored but at heavyweight nothing is guaranteed, especially when your opponent has the kind of power that Ngannou possesses.

[Getmon]

Seriously? Are these individuals composed of mma fans and voters with little boxing knowledge? Anyhow, only wager small sums or do not wager at all in this match because you will see the absolute annihilation of Ngannou.

Ngannou is simply riding his fame in light of his contested loss to Fury. But in my opinion, he cannot win a boxing match even at the degree of Joshua which is inferior compared to Fury. Joshua will have great preparations because in his mentality he can demonstrate that he can be better than Fury.

Ngannou left a good impression against Fury, who is considered the best heavyweight in the world. Joshua isn't as good as Fury and has a glass chin so they are basing their predictions on simple logic. What isn't being considered is that going into his fight with Fury, Ngannou had never boxed before so we didn't know his strengths and weaknesses. Now that Ngannou has some experience, Joshua has some footage to study and he also knows what mistakes Fury made in his preparation, or lack thereof.

I am not so confident that Ngannou gets annihilated. Most people thought the same thing about Andy Ruiz. Ruiz shocked the world and AJ has never really been the same since. I think the odds are about where they should be. AJ is rightfully favored but at heavyweight nothing is guaranteed, especially when your opponent has the kind of power that Ngannou possesses.

We will soon find out who is the best heavyweight in the world. Ngannou stunned the world when he showed he could hold his ground and gave Fury a night to remember. However, results like that are uncommon and only occur a handful of times.

Ngannou will also examine his previous match and learn from his mistakes. However, I simply do not think it is enough, in this next match, he is not taken lightly. Joshua improved after several wins and perhaps back to his old condition. Joshua will go out there and fire his bombs with the goal of annihilating Ngannou. Ngannou, in my opinion, is unable to keep up. But if it is a terrified Joshua, Ngannou gets an opportunity to break that chin once more.

[mirakal]

Ngannou will also examine his previous match and learn from his mistakes. However, I simply do not think it is enough, in this next match, he is not taken lightly. Joshua improved after several wins and perhaps back to his old condition. Joshua will go out there and fire his bombs with the goal of annihilating Ngannou. Ngannou, in my opinion, is unable to keep up. But if it is a terrified Joshua, Ngannou gets an opportunity to break that chin once more.

The question is, did Fury trained hard on their fight? If Fury didn't took the fight seriously, then Ngannou could not make it as a basis for his adjustment as simply what he faced was not the real Tyson Fury. Here, this fight, his opponent AJ will trained as usual so Ngannou needs to have a big improvement as well. There's a reason why he loss on his last fight, people should stop hyping up his suppose victory because by record it didn't happen.

He now have a chance to proved to the world if he is really a legit star in boxing, so it's important to beat AJ, otherwise, people will think that he should go back to where he belonged, where he is good at.

[Questat]

Ngannou will also examine his previous match and learn from his mistakes. However, I simply do not think it is enough, in this next match, he is not taken lightly. Joshua improved after several wins and perhaps back to his old condition. Joshua will go out there and fire his bombs with the goal of annihilating Ngannou. Ngannou, in my opinion, is unable to keep up. But if it is a terrified Joshua, Ngannou gets an opportunity to break that chin once more.

The question is, did Fury trained hard on their fight? If Fury didn't took the fight seriously, then Ngannou could not make it as a basis for his adjustment as simply what he faced was not the real Tyson Fury. Here, this fight, his opponent AJ will trained as usual so Ngannou needs to have a big improvement as well. There's a reason why he loss on his last fight, people should stop hyping up his suppose victory because by record it didn't happen.

He now have a chance to proved to the world if he is really a legit star in boxing, so it's important to beat AJ, otherwise, people will think that he should go back to where he belonged, where he is good at.

That was just an assumption from random people, but since Fury didn't confirm that, we should assume that Fury did the right training before the fight although in the trailer he was just more on eating. Fury, always came prepared, that's why he is still undefeated until now, and honestly, in his recent fights, I haven't seen any fighter that he had a hard time beating. It's easy for him because he is smart, and I even doubt Usyk could give him a problem in their unification fight.

AJ vs Ngannou is definitely gonna attract the crowd, there's no question about that, the only question is if Ngannou can stand against AJ who has a high KO rate than Fury. 24 KO of 27 fights, that's high.

[bittraffic]

Ngannou will also examine his previous match and learn from his mistakes. However, I simply do not think it is enough, in this next match, he is not taken lightly. Joshua improved after several wins and perhaps back to his old condition. Joshua will go out there and fire his bombs with the goal of annihilating Ngannou. Ngannou, in my opinion, is unable to keep up. But if it is a terrified Joshua, Ngannou gets an opportunity to break that chin once more.

The question is, did Fury trained hard on their fight? If Fury didn't took the fight seriously, then Ngannou could not make it as a basis for his adjustment as simply what he faced was not the real Tyson Fury. Here, this fight, his opponent AJ will trained as usual so Ngannou needs to have a big improvement as well. There's a reason why he loss on his last fight, people should stop hyping up his suppose victory because by record it didn't happen.

He now have a chance to proved to the world if he is really a legit star in boxing, so it's important to beat AJ, otherwise, people will think that he should go back to where he belonged, where he is good at.

That was just an assumption from random people, but since Fury didn't confirm that, we should assume that Fury did the right training before the fight although in the trailer he was just more on eating. Fury, always came prepared, that's why he is still undefeated until now, and honestly, in his recent fights, I haven't seen any fighter that he had a hard time beating. It's easy for him because he is smart, and I even doubt Usyk could give him a problem in their unification fight.

AJ vs Ngannou is definitely gonna attract the crowd, there's no question about that, the only question is if Ngannou can stand against AJ who has a high KO rate than Fury. 24 KO of 27 fights, that's high.

Fury did train and it's been on the videos shown while he was sparring with someone. He knows it's a real fight and he knows Ngannou has the hardest punch in MMA I don't think he will just disregard what Ngannou can do and will not prepare for it. Not preparing for Usyk fight will be Fury's end. Usyk is a much better fighter than Fury, everyone could see that on their records. Fury hasn't unified a belt.

If Mike Tyson is not on the side of Ngannou this time, probably because Mike Tyson had already taught him all he could.

[pawel7777]

Fury did train and it's been on the videos shown while he was sparring with someone. (...)

He was properly prepared for the fight according to himself and people who know him (including Tom Aspinall). He had a perfect excuse to explain his below-the-expectations performance of "I guess I underestimated him a bit and didn't train as hard as I should" - but he never went with it and was honest.

Not preparing for Usyk fight will be Fury's end. Usyk is a much better fighter than Fury, everyone could see that on their records. Fury hasn't unified a belt.

I don't think there's any risk of Fury underestimating Usyk and neglecting preparations. That being said, he mentioned in one of the interviews that he'll only train for 4-5 weeks before the fight, as opposed to 12 weeks he spent on preparing for Ngannou or Wilder. Not sure if he was serious though.

[Sanitough]

I don't think there's any risk of Fury underestimating Usyk and neglecting preparations. That being said, he mentioned in one of the interviews that he'll only train for 4-5 weeks before the fight, as opposed to 12 weeks he spent on preparing for Ngannou or Wilder. Not sure if he was serious though.

It could be just an excuse though. But good for him because he was able to win the fight, so regardless, that doesn't make him a bad fighter since Ngannou  trained hard and wants to win also. Now, against Usyk, he can't say that he will be undertrained because this is a serious matter, it's an undisputed fight and everything is at stake here, including his popularity.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

I don't think there's any risk of Fury underestimating Usyk and neglecting preparations. That being said, he mentioned in one of the interviews that he'll only train for 4-5 weeks before the fight, as opposed to 12 weeks he spent on preparing for Ngannou or Wilder. Not sure if he was serious though.

It could be just an excuse though. But good for him because he was able to win the fight, so regardless, that doesn't make him a bad fighter since Ngannou  trained hard and wants to win also. Now, against Usyk, he can't say that he will be undertrained because this is a serious matter, it's an undisputed fight and everything is at stake here, including his popularity.

He was just lucky that the judges was in his favor on that fight. Everyone is saying that he will dominate and it will not go to distance. But there are boxing pundits who says that he almost lost that fight and it almost cost him a big payday against Usyk.

And so Francis Ngannou will have, I will say a second chance, this time it's better for him as Joshua doesn't have the chin and if that raw power of Francis touches that glass chin of Anthony, so it won't be a easy fight for him.

For Francis, he could be more familiar with boxing right now, and will be full of confidence based on his last performance against Tyson Fury.

[Finestream]

I don't think there's any risk of Fury underestimating Usyk and neglecting preparations. That being said, he mentioned in one of the interviews that he'll only train for 4-5 weeks before the fight, as opposed to 12 weeks he spent on preparing for Ngannou or Wilder. Not sure if he was serious though.

It could be just an excuse though. But good for him because he was able to win the fight, so regardless, that doesn't make him a bad fighter since Ngannou  trained hard and wants to win also. Now, against Usyk, he can't say that he will be undertrained because this is a serious matter, it's an undisputed fight and everything is at stake here, including his popularity.

He was just lucky that the judges was in his favor on that fight. Everyone is saying that he will dominate and it will not go to distance. But there are boxing pundits who says that he almost lost that fight and it almost cost him a big payday against Usyk.

You call that lucky if you are one of the many who believed that Fury loss on that fight But it's hard to just follow the speculation like that as there's an official scorecard for a reason. Boxing maybe corrupt, like the judges are, however, we are only guided with the official result, and it's final, so we have to respect that.

And so Francis Ngannou will have, I will say a second chance, this time it's better for him as Joshua doesn't have the chin and if that raw power of Francis touches that glass chin of Anthony, so it won't be a easy fight for him.

For Francis, he could be more familiar with boxing right now, and will be full of confidence based on his last performance against Tyson Fury.

I'm hoping to see that from him as he gained good experience on his first fight, he should be able to make the right adjustment in this fight although it's a different opponet. And yeah, it's noted that AJ as a soft chin, that should be the target of Ngannou, and I'm sure if AJ fall he will not be able to recover.

[Hirose UK]

That is why boxing has rank system, ratings and etc. Otherwise any good unknown boxer would come, defeat everyone and sponsors gonna lose their “champion is promoting us” thing. It is not enough to simply be good. You must be good and be high in rank. So far Ngannou is unranked. Btw, Ngannou does not deserve to be a champion.  Simply because he has skipped all that “path to face champion”. He did not fight other contenders. And it is to late for him to do that.

It could still be said that Ngannou actually made his Boxing debut yesterday afternoon, but he has potential and Ngannou has managed to have quite good hype as newcomer to the world of Boxing.
It just that previously Ngannou was great fighter in the UFC and Ngannou had also managed to win the title for clear weight there, now Ngannou just needs to focus on his next fight against Anthony Joshua.
I still believe that Ngannou will be able to become champion and he will gain his ranking as time goes by, in his first debut, if he really succeeds in knocking out Fury then it is clear that Ngannou can be the first boxer to beat him.
Now Ngannou will start again and he will start from the start to be able to have ranking and be challenger for every weight class, it is possible that Ngannou can win various titles like Fury and Usyk.

[hilariousetc]

Less than a month to go now. AJ and Francis had their first face-to-face discussion recently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbc_KOoCu2A

That is why boxing has rank system, ratings and etc. Otherwise any good unknown boxer would come, defeat everyone and sponsors gonna lose their “champion is promoting us” thing. It is not enough to simply be good. You must be good and be high in rank. So far Ngannou is unranked. Btw, Ngannou does not deserve to be a champion.  Simply because he has skipped all that “path to face champion”. He did not fight other contenders. And it is to late for him to do that.

Francis is ranked at Number 10 by the WBC, though I don't believe he should be. The WBC's reasoning was that he's already got a leg-up and proved himself through fighting in the UFC and shown he can go toe-to-toe with the current heavyweight champion of the world so therefore he deserves to be ranked. I mean, sure, maybe put him in the top 50 or something but not straight into the top 10. That's just silly but there's a reason many call the WBC "We Be Corrupt" and they obviously want their sanctioning fees. It will be interesting to see how long before he is challenging for the WBC belt though. Now he's in the top 10 he can actually fight for it, but fighting Fury again with the belt on the line would be a bit silly in my opinion. I would love for Francis to win it at some point but he needs to earn that right and not have it handed to him after a few fights. Of course, 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.

[pawel7777]

(...) 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.

[electronicash]

(...) 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 think Francis could knock either Usyk or Fury so he if wins his fight against AJ and is given a shot again i think he will be able to topple either. he was fighting a pro in his first debut but he managed to avoid getting hit hard but knocked down the champ. i'm sure if Francis is still in UFC, he'd be the main event in the historical UFC 300.

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.

[Kemarit]

(...) 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.

Most likely it will be the case, if ever he will beat AJ, his hype will soar to a new level and boxing fans are going to clamor for Francis to fight the winner of Fury vs Usyk. Francis chances is to hit AJ with his power, just like what he did on his UFC days, that power though, once it touches anyone, it's night-night for them.

Francis though is still 4:1 underdog as per crypto based sport bookies. Could they be setting us for a trap here or odd makers still think that Francis is no anomaly or what he got is just his power and that's it. While Joshua on the other hand, pro-boxer, but they don't think that Francis can upset AJ in this fight and making him a huge underdog.

[pawel7777]

Most likely it will be the case, if ever he will beat AJ, his hype will soar to a new level and boxing fans are going to clamor for Francis to fight the winner of Fury vs Usyk.

I think so too. Beating AJ would elevate Francis to a whole new level. Fury has already expressed interest in a rematch with Francis even before his fight against AJ was announced. And Ngannou Vs either Fury or Usyk would then be by far the most profitable option, which makes it the most likely one to happen.

Francis though is still 4:1 underdog as per crypto based sport bookies.

These are actually pretty good odds for Francis. Many professional boxers don't get such odds when fighting the top guys. Ruiz was over 12:1 underdog in his first fight with AJ and still managed to win.

i'm sure if Francis is still in UFC, he'd be the main event in the historical UFC 300.

UFC300 will take place on 13th April, so shortly after the Ngannou Vs AJ fight and the main card for that is already completed and was recently announced.
I don't expect Ngannou to ever return to the UFC. Maybe if he loses badly to AJ and it's clear that he has no place in boxing, but even then, he might just retire or go to a different MMA organisation.

[TopTort777]

Less than a month to go now. AJ and Francis had their first face-to-face discussion recently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbc_KOoCu2A

That is why boxing has rank system, ratings and etc. Otherwise any good unknown boxer would come, defeat everyone and sponsors gonna lose their “champion is promoting us” thing. It is not enough to simply be good. You must be good and be high in rank. So far Ngannou is unranked. Btw, Ngannou does not deserve to be a champion.  Simply because he has skipped all that “path to face champion”. He did not fight other contenders. And it is to late for him to do that.

Francis is ranked at Number 10 by the WBC, though I don't believe he should be. The WBC's reasoning was that he's already got a leg-up and proved himself through fighting in the UFC and shown he can go toe-to-toe with the current heavyweight champion of the world so therefore he deserves to be ranked. I mean, sure, maybe put him in the top 50 or something but not straight into the top 10. That's just silly but there's a reason many call the WBC "We Be Corrupt" and they obviously want their sanctioning fees. It will be interesting to see how long before he is challenging for the WBC belt though. Now he's in the top 10 he can actually fight for it, but fighting Fury again with the belt on the line would be a bit silly in my opinion. I would love for Francis to win it at some point but he needs to earn that right and not have it handed to him after a few fights. Of course, 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.

These are exact expressions on my face when I read from your post that he is now ranked 10 in WBC... I mean, it is stupidly unfair towards guys who were on top10 and below positions. Now with a single fight, he has moved them down, while they were crawling there for years. It is even more stupid when unranked guy fought champion, and now 10th place guy fights a guy who supposed to be Nr.1 contender for a belt. What now, if he beats AJ, he fights for the belt again?