Joshua vs. Ngannou: Fighters' First Comments

On the night of March 9th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a match took place between former heavyweight champion (over 90.7 kg) Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) and former UFC champion Francis Ngannou (0-2).

The British boxer confidently defeated the Cameroonian – already in the first round, Joshua knocked down his opponent, and in the second, he finished the confrontation by sending his opponent to a second knockdown, then knocked him out with a single punch.

After the match, Anthony commented on his victory:

"It's the beauty of boxing, you only need one punch in the heavyweight division. You always have to look for the best. As for me, I don't know if I'm reaching my peak, but I work hard every day. Who knows where it will lead me.

Imagine, in five years, I won't be fighting anymore, everything will be said and done. So, I try to make the most of this opportunity.

I'm just here to fight. I'm going to go back to my cage, lock up, and they'll let me out again to fight. I just want to fight."

Francis also shared his emotions:

"It was a clean shot. I didn't even feel it. That's the essence of a knockout – you don't feel any pain. That's how I know I got knocked out.

It was something special because this guy stopped me. He did what Tyson Fury couldn't.

It wasn't my day, and today he was much better than me. It sucks, but that's our job."

Following the Briton's victory, promoter Eddie Hearn commented on the match and declared Joshua the number 1 heavyweight in the world.