Zakhozhiy on Ngannou: "I Warned Him"

Ukrainian EBU European heavyweight champion Oleksandr Zakhozhiy (19-0, 15 KOs) commented on the devastating victory of Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) over Francis Ngannou (0-2).

"Yes, he was switching stances. And I warned him that if he starts switching stances against Joshua, Joshua will immediately strike with a right. We mustn't forget that Joshua has recently fought several southpaws in a row. So, he knows well how to box a southpaw. He remembers to strike with the right hand.

I tried to show this to Ngannou every time. As soon as he changed stances, I tried to hit him right there. I landed, told him, 'As soon as you do that, he'll throw a right.' And he would reply, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah.'

My wife and I were at the fight. As soon as Francis changed stances, it seemed to me that I even saw Joshua's demeanor change. He seemed to be waiting for it. And I said to my wife, 'Watch! There will be a knockdown now.' And literally 3 seconds later—bam!—it was over. It seems to me that Francis didn't expect that. He seemed a bit off. I even thought that he was counting on Joshua not finishing him off right away. That he would play with him a bit more. Notice the knockout. Ngannou didn't even properly raise his hands," said Zakhozhiy.

On March 8th, Anthony Joshua knocked out Francis Ngannou in the second round. On April 13th, Oleksandr Zakhodzhiy knocked out German fighter Granit Shala (15-1, 5 KOs) and claimed the vacant EBU European championship belt.