Sports talks about the reaction of the martial arts world to the main boxing event March: on the eve of former world boxing champion Anthony Joshua quickly extinguished the light in the eyes of former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champion Francis Ngannou in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), knocking out the most dangerous heavyweight in the second round. And, it seems, he sent the Predator back into mixed martial arts.
Ngannou shocked the sports world in October. In a fight with the undefeated Briton Tyson Fury, rightfully considered one of the greatest in the history of boxing, the Frenchman of Cameroonian origin jumped over his head and, knocking down the Gypsy King, lasted the entire distance. Yes, the favorite won by split decision, but the result was controversial, and it is unlikely that the world champion according to the World Boxing Council (WBC), who underestimated the MMA native, was counting on such success.
Now Fury is seriously preparing for a fight for the title absolute world champion against Ukrainian Alexander Usik. And Ngannou received a new, no less money fight.
The predator caught the attention of Anthony Joshua. Previously, AJ held championship belts according to the International Boxing Federation (IBF), World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Organization (WBO) and International Boxing Organization (IBO), but meetings with Usik deprived the Briton of gold and added two defeats to the record.
The day before, he had the opportunity to put the daring upstart in his place and save the reputation of boxing, which suffered serious damage after the events in the Fury-Ngannou fight.
Joshua coped with the task and declassed Ngannou. The underdog was a faded shadow of the October version of himself: he came out not to fight, but to miss. The Predator survived the knockdown in the first round, but in the second three minutes things got really bad — a new knockdown led to a hard blow from the right and a dull knockout. The highlight turned out to be epic: Ngannou, who collapsed on the floor, could not come to his senses — the athlete had to be revived with the help of an oxygen mask… But he earned 20 million dollars.
“»Joshua became special because he managed to stop me. He did what Tyson Fury couldn't do it. Now I'm going to go home, rest a little and understand what happened. This morning this day was hellish. I'll get through it and see what happens next. Maybe I'll compete in MMA again, but you can be sure that «I'm not done with boxing. Definitely not, I'm not done yet.»Francis Ngannou spoke with MMA Junkie.
The triumphant, in turn, supported the loser. AJ called Ngannou a “great champion” and noted his opponent’s great potential, in which case he should not leave boxing… Joshua also admitted that he is interested in a meeting with the winner of the May superfight between Usyk and Fury.
And here’s how eminent representatives of the fighting community reacted to the events in the ring.
- Tyson Fury:
«AJ threw a fantastic right hand. If he meets me after I beat Usyk twice, it will be completely different duel». (Daily Mail)
- Boxer Ryan Garcia:
«
«Let this be a big warning to MMA fighters! There is no need to come to boxing, because it will only get worse. Even worse than if we come to MMA. One hit and it's over. Praying for Francis' health!"
- Boxer blogger Jake Paul:
«Francis Ngannou is one of the greatest fighters of all time and deserves the respect he deserves. Anthony Joshua is back: activity and focus lead to dominance.»
- Promoter Eddie Hearn:
«There is no doubt that you are looking at the best heavyweight in the world right now. When Joshua is in this form, there is no man who can beat him. I told you: «He will come back and become a champion again. Tyson Fury is on the horizon. Please beat Oleksandr Usyk! After that, I promise, you will have the biggest event in boxing history, after which Anthony will become the undisputed champion.» (DAZN)
- Triple ONE FC champion Anatoly Malykhin:
«Everyone said, how strong, good and bulletproof Ngannou is. And now I opened the comments (on social networks), and everyone there is writing how dead and weak he is. In one day you can turn from bulletproof to a sieve. Tough topic.»
- Former UFC number one, regardless of weight categories Kamaru Usman:
«»And that's all equally he (Ngannou) is still the most dangerous bastard on the planet.»
- Interim UFC heavyweight championTom Aspinall :
«I thought Ngannou had a good chance to win. I was wrong.»
- Former UFC champion Aljamain Sterling:
«It sucks to see that. Damn.»