Zakhodzhiy: "I Believe Ngannou Beat Fury"

Ukrainian EBU European heavyweight (over 90,7 kg) champion Oleksandr Zakhodzhiy (19-0, 15 KOs) shared his experience from sparring sessions with former UFC champion, Cameroonian Francis Ngannou (0-2).

"I've sparred with him more than anyone else. This was already the second camp where I worked with him. They really appreciated me. I stood with him for 5, 7, even 8 rounds at a time.

Sparring with him was interesting. You know how? Normally, I throw about 50 punches per round, but with him, I think it was a maximum of 10 punches. Because you know this person can hit even during sparring. He can hit in a way that can shake you or even send you to the canvas.

Sparring with Francis is very dangerous because he knows I can hit too. And that anticipation in the ring... That moment when both are afraid to make a mistake. When both understand that if you make a mistake, a punch will immediately come flying. He hits in sparring, probably about 80-90% power. Once in sparring, he hit my shoulder—my tricep. I had a bruise there for 2 or 3 weeks on my whole arm. And that's just a regular punch to the shoulder. So he really has a very strong punch. What's interesting is that when he throws punches, it seems like everything is slow and visible. But somehow, they still reach their target.

The fight between Ngannou and Tyson Fury? Honestly, it even surprised me. I did not expect the fight to go exactly like that. Honestly, I didn't believe it. And I think he really won. It's just that Fury already had a contract signed for a fight with Oleksandr Usyk, so they didn't give the victory to Francis. I believe Ngannou deserves to be somewhere in the top-30 heavyweights. Something like that," said Zakhodzhiy.

On April 13th, Oleksandr Zakhodzhiy knocked out German fighter Granit Shala (15-1, 5 KOs) to claim the vacant EBU European championship belt.