FRANCIS NGANNOU shocked Tyson Fury and the boxing community when he dumped the WBC world heavyweight champion on his backside — but he’s still a raw novice.
As a reward for almost causing a seismic change to the foundations of the sport, the MMA star has earned a clash with Anthony Joshua in Riyadh.
Ngannou, 37, is having his second experience of fighting under Queensberry rules, which means he should still be wearing L plates.
Last year, when it was announced Ngannou was going to meet Fury in Saudi Arabia, the news was met with a mixture of disbelief and derision — the majority regarded it as a farcical fight.
It was inconceivable that someone as feckless as Ngannou was being allowed to mix in such elite company. He was given as much chance of beating Fury as one of Saudi’s fastest racing camels would have of winning the Derby.
Yet not only did a Ngannou left hook almost dethrone the Gypsy King, after ten rounds he was unlucky to lose a controversial split points decision.
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It was very nearly an Arabian nightmare for Fury whose only feasible excuse was that he was suffering from a large dose of complacency.
The Cameroon cage fighter proved he can be an extremely dangerous item. But Ngannou, after a 30-minute career, has not been transformed into a master of boxing’s arts and crafts.
AJ has had the advantage of seeing what happened six months ago and has to be focused.
But he must also be licking his lips at the thought of tangling with a trainee.
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Surely it’s extremely unwise to put a learner driver into a Formula One car for his first two lessons.
Ngannou got away with it the first time but I fear he is likely to suffer an almighty crash on this occasion. Joshua, after those two defeats against Oleksandr Usyk, has been steadily rebuilding.
With three wins in 2023, he has restored his credibility with the goal of winning back the world title for a British record third time.
The biggest and most lucrative battle of top heavyweights would still be between Fury and Joshua.
It is beyond belief that Joshua is going to allow himself to be humiliated by a man totally inexperienced with such limited boxing skills like Fury was.
Joshua, 34, has constantly been accused of being gun-shy since he was KO’d by Andy Ruiz Jr in New York in 2019.
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He would be foolish to disregard the huge African’s strength and power but it’s doubtful if he has much else to worry about.
Ngannou may even have a stamina problem. He refused to face Joshua over 12 rounds, insisting it must be ten or nothing.
If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be surprising if AJ keeps ramming his hurtful jab in Ngannou’s face from the opening bell with a following right cross — the old one-two.
Ngannou would then be softened up, blowing hard and ready to be taken out by halfway.
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Nothing would give AJ greater pleasure than a spectacular finish to show Fury how to put a beginner in his place — then Ngannou can return to his cage and be put in proper perspective.
But if Ngannou should make mugs of us again, then the night labelled ‘Knockout Chaos’ will have turned into ‘Knockout Killjoy’.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
