Delays and Desire to Sleep Before the Fight: Ngannou on His Bout Against Joshua

Former UFC champion Francis Ngannou (0-2) reflected on his fight against former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs).

The Cameroonian claimed that the organizers favored Joshua by adjusting the schedule to suit the Brit. Nevertheless, the 37-year-old Ngannou acknowledged his opponent’s abilities and mentioned that he does not remember what happened in the second round.

Ring Walk Planned Hours Earlier

"We got to fight week, and every time we had to do a media event, they would take me and make me wait an hour and a half for the media to arrive. By the third day of fight week, coach Dewey Cooper started getting angry: 'They’re doing this to exhaust the fighters!' But at that time, I didn't know what was happening.

So, I said, 'No, calm down. It's okay.' I didn't realize until fight day.

On fight day, we received a letter. Departure from the hotel – 10:30 PM. Already at 10:20 PM, the car was waiting for us. The fight was supposed to take place between midnight and 1:00 AM. We arrive at the arena at 10:45 PM. The producer comes into the locker room and says, 'Oh guys, we’re delaying the broadcast. Now, we’ll walk out to the ring around 1:45 AM.' I thought, 'Okay, 1:45. It’s now 10:45. That’s three hours. Fine.'

Joshua arrived at the arena around 1:30 AM. I thought, 'So we’re fighting at 1:45?' He arrives at 1:30... we leave the locker room at 3:30. I spent almost two months in Saudi Arabia, preparing to fight between 12:00 and 1:00 AM. I didn’t understand what was happening at the time. I realized it only later."

Ngannou Fell Asleep in the Locker Room

"I got to the point where I was tired. In the locker room, I was working on the pads, then sitting down and falling asleep. Then I told coach Eric Nicksick that something was wrong. I’m falling asleep. I feel like I want to sleep. I’m sweating. But we just kept going.

I’m not saying Anthony Joshua couldn’t have beaten me – he’s one of the best in the business. It’s definitely not his fault since he didn’t send those letters, he wasn’t in charge of the organization. So, I don’t blame him for anything. But the organizers were doing things that were unfair. His team was one of the organizers because those letters came to me from Queensberry and Matchroom. They were sending me the schedule. Every day they sent the departure time, program, and schedule."

Ngannou Doesn't Remember the Knockout

"I got into the ring and didn’t feel well. During the first round, when he knocked me down, I thought, ‘Did I slip? What exactly knocked me off my feet?’ I felt a punch, but it wasn’t a punch that put me down. Then I was really confused. I thought, ‘Damn, what?’ But then I fell after a punch that wasn’t that strong.

Joshua first hit me in the arm, then in the face, and I felt it. I felt the punch, but it wasn’t enough to knock me down. They counted the knockdown, I got up, we finished the round, and I went to my corner. I never came back from that state. I don’t remember how I got up and went out for the second round. I remember exactly what happened before I sat on the stool. I remember sitting there and my vision started to darken. My coach was talking to me, but his voice was getting more distant. I don’t know if it was exhaustion or not, but something was wrong," Ngannou explained.

In March, Anthony Joshua defeated Francis Ngannou, knocking the Cameroonian down three times – KO 2.