FRANCIS NGANNOU made the smallest of changes to his appearance to troll Anthony Joshua during their penultimate face-off.
The former UFC heavyweight champion locks horns with the Watford warrior in a lucrative crossover clash on Friday night.
The pair have been nothing but cordial with one another in the build-up to their money-spinning Saudi showdown, although Ngannou has slowly but surely ratcheted things up with a series of funny social media posts.
One of his recent posts mocked AJ’s wearing of a single AirPod in his right ear at media events, which he also referenced during Wednesday’s final pre-fight press conference.
And in a bid to further troll the Brit, he put an airpod in his left ear as they squared up for their final face-off.
Boxing fans couldn’t help but notice his sly taunt at AJ, with one writing on X: “No way you wore Joshua’s left airpod.”
READ MORE IN BOXING
Another said: “Is he going to have to win back his airpod?”
And another said: “This kid put on an AirPod to wind him up.”
One remarked: “Looks like @francis_ngannou has found Anthony Joshua’s missing airpod.”
One chimed in: “Love that Ngannou is wearing an AirPod to mock AJ.
Most read in Boxing
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO WELCOME OFFERS
ANTHONY JOSHUA VS FRANCIS NGANNOU: ALL THE DETAILS YOU NEED AHEAD OF HUGE CROSSOVER BOUT
“Why does AJ always have his AirPods on during face-offs and weigh-ins?”
Fight fans have long wondered what former two-time unified heavyweight champ Joshua listens to in his lone airpod during pressers.
Laughing after being quizzed about it, he put his phone to the microphone and said, ‘It’s just music’ as ‘Eskimo’ by Wiley blared out.
He added: “I don’t know why there’s a big conspiracy of what I listen to on my AirPod.
“I don’t know what the big deal is.”
MMA superstar Ngannou shocked the world last October against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, who he dropped in the third round of their crossover clash.
And coach Dewey Cooper reckons Fury’s shortcomings against ‘The Predator’ have heaped additional pressure on AJ’s shoulders.
He told SunSport: “I see him not being tentative.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
“Why? Because he has to get that monkey off his back.
“He has to outdo Tyson Fury. So he’s going to come out fighting.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
