Anthony Joshua needed only two rounds to knock out Francis Ngannou.
The British-Nigerian boxer was quick and didn’t let Ngannou have any chance, unlike Tyson Fury in a previous fight.
Just one minute into the main event called ‘Knockout Chaos’ in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Joshua knocked the former UFC champion down with a powerful right hook.
A stunned Ngannou was almost counted out at the end of the first round.
Joshua finished off Ngannou in the second round with a strong performance.
This victory eliminated any chance of an unexpected upset and moved Joshua closer to becoming a three-time world champion.
Ola Olukole, a Senior Tech Specialist in Virtualization, was surprised by Ngannou’s fighting strategy.
“Shocking. Real shocking, especially after the outing against Fury,” Ola tells DAILY POST.
“Unlike Fury, AJ wasn’t playing around trying to test if he’s a boxer or not. He attacked early to gauge his reach.
“I think some bad habits from MMA opened the door for AJ’s shots.
“He opened his block for that first straight. The second was him dropping his left arm to casually parry AJ’s right. He dropped again.
“For the KO, Francis did something amateur going weak with southpaw and AJ saw it open and slapped the KO.”
However, Joshua’s victory should not be underestimated. It is likely the most devastating knockout of his career.
Furthermore, he appears to be on the path to success once again.
“AJ is also different, He changed coaches or trainers, lately he’s been dictating tempo unlike before where he leans and allows the opponent to come at him,” Olukole pointed out.
“He’s mean and pushes now. He didn’t even really need his jabs to win this.
“I actually think He’s back. He’s different. I read somewhere he went to the US for a couple of months for training and has a new coach.
“I thought he might be on his way back in his last fight, but this one — he faced Francis straight up. He didn’t play around or even bounced around.”
After defeating Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin, Joshua is now back on track to chase another world title. This win sets him up for a potential fight against the winner of Fury and Oleksandr Usyk’s match for the undisputed heavyweight championship.
Olukole believes Joshua would perform well against either opponent.
“I actually think he’s in great shape to fight whoever, as long as he continues whatever he’s been doing recently.
“He doesn’t sit around now. He’s calculated at least in this fight,” he added.
