Joshua Will Do What Fury Couldn’t: KO Ngannou!

Did former UFC 265-pound champion Francis Ngannou defy expectations and overperform … or did WBC heavyweight titleholder Tyson Fury lay an egg and fail to get out of first gear during their Saudi Arabia super fight last weekend at Boulevard Hall?

That depends on who you ask.

The MMA community has spent the past two days praising Ngannou for his career performance against one of the top names in boxing. But not everyone in the “sweet science” thinks “The Predator” is going to spend much time in the Top 10.

Not after Anthony Joshua gets done with him.

“Let A.J. go in there and end (Fury’s) career, please,” Matchroom Chairman Eddie Hearn told Boxing Social. “Or Ngannou has earned the right for a big fight. Let A.J. go in and knock Ngannou out inside three rounds. Not a problem. Forget about Fury-Usyk, dead fight. No one’s interested in that fight at all. I cannot believe what I was watching. Fury didn’t even try. Ngannou is so tired, all he had to do was step on him.”

“Scrap everything and just make A.J. vs. Fury now. I’m telling you now: A.J. will beat him comfortably, and he will stop him and finish his career, I’m telling you. If they have to do Fury vs. Usyk; which look, it’s still undisputed, but he just lost to a bloke that’s never boxed before, then let Ngannou fight A.J. See what happens. See what happens when someone lets their hands go on Francis Ngannou properly. But listen: Props to Ngannou. But awful. Absolutely awful.”

I guess Joshua vs. Ngannou isn’t so “gimmicky” after all.

Team Ngannou was trying to drum up interest in a potential Joshua fight last May and at the time, Hearn was on board. Then Fury got involved and the focus shifted to “The Gypsy King” for a special 10-round, non-title exhibition bout that ended in controversial fashion.

As for Joshua, he went on to stop Robert Helenius last August.

Ngannou plans to continue his career in both MMA and boxing. “The Predator” currently has a deal in place with PFL to make his “SmartCage” debut in 2024, but that may change after the Cameroonian slugger shook up the boxing world in Riyadh.

For much more on the Fury vs. Ngannou spectacle click here.