ANTHONY JOSHUA knocked down Francis Ngannou in the first round – and Tyson Fury was loving it.
The Gypsy King had a front-row seat for the heavyweight clash in the Kingdom Arena, Saudi Arabia.
Fury laboured to a points win over the MMA champion in October but Joshua made lightwork of his opponent.
Joshua knocked down Ngannou two minutes into the contest and Fury reacted with enthusiasm as he vigorously nodded his head and passionately applauded his compatriot.
That was just the beginning of the excitement as Ngannou staggered back to his feet before seeing out the round.
However he was soon back on the canvas as AJ landed a deadly right hand to send the Cameroonian spiralling.
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Ngannou got back up once again but the next right hand from Joshua ended the contest as it was lights out for The Predator.
The event was billed as ‘Knockout Chaos’ and it delivered on its billing, with Joshua proving his power once again.
Ngannou was left sprawled out on the canvas and he required oxygen before getting back up to his feet.
Joshua did not celebrate until his opponent was confirmed to be okay, and he embraced Ngannou while telling him he was an “inspiration”.
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AJ said after his win: “It is what it is.
“On the route to the championship you should always stay focused and I had to step away from the mission
“I thought it was just a gimmick for the broadcasters.
“When I saw the fight with Fury I thought damn this guy can fight, I want a piece of that.
“I wanted to welcome him and this does not take anything away from him, he can come again.
“I am still learning and pushing, I don’t know if I am coming into my peak, if that was me down there you would be saying ‘Anthony Joshua should retire’.
“In five years I will be finished fighting and sitting down and all this will be a distant memory.
“I am going to go back and lock myself in my cage and they can let me out when they want me to fight. I just want to fight.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
