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Francis Ngannou’s second boxing match didn’t go nearly as well as his first one.
The former UFC heavyweight champion was destroyed by Anthony Joshua almost from the jump. He was dropped twice in quick succession in the second round, with the final blow resulting in a knockout victory for Joshua.
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This angle of Anthony Joshua’s knockout punch 😳🥊
In the aftermath of the bout, Ngannou took to social media to apologize for his performance and vowed to return better than ever.
There was some optimism after his bout with Tyson Fury about Ngannou’s ability to transition from mixed martial arts to boxing. Even though Ngannou lost that fight via split decision, he was able to score a third-round knockdown against the unbeaten champion.
Fury admitted earlier this week he wasn’t sure how to gauge Ngannou’s talent as a boxer.
“I didn’t have a good night (in October). I had a lot of problems, but I am not here to make excuses,” the Gypsy King said. “I can’t really gauge how good or bad he was because of how poor I was.”
This may not have been the best fight to evaluate Ngannou on because of the level of competition. Joshua is arguably the best heavyweight boxer in the world right now. He’s been fighting regularly, as opposed to Fury who took most of 2023 off before agreeing to the bout with Ngannou.
If Ngannou wants to make it as a top star in boxing, in addition to continuing his MMA career in the PFL, he needs to take gradual steps before stepping in the ring against fighters like Joshua.
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