Underestimating Francis Ngannou‘s potential in his upcoming boxing match against former two-time unified champion Anthony Joshua would be a grave error. Ngannou in his second boxing match is facing another prominent heavyweight figure in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Before Ngannou steps into the ring on March 8, Jeff Mayweather, Floyd Mayweather’s uncle, has given his two cents about how the fight may go down.
In his previous boxing match last October, ‘The Predator’ surprised the world and justified his departure from the UFC by going head-to-head with WBC Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury for 10 rounds, including an early knockdown. However, will that be enough against AJ who is coming off of a string of spectacular victories in 2023?
Jeff Mayweather is leaning slightly toward Francis Ngannou
Ngannou might be a new player but the power he holds has awarded him a world record. In 2017, he recorded a punch of 129,161 units at the UFC Performance Institute, surpassing the previous record held by kickboxer Tyrone Spong. Mayweather believes this punch can provide Ngannou an upper hand on Joshua.
“One thing that he got, one thing that everybody wished they had and that’s power and I think that way. At some point in the fight, he’s gonna get caught by Ngannou and he’s going to have to show his worth,” he said in a discussion on the Mayweather Channel.
Joshua has not been consistent with his performance and victories. According to Jeff Mayweather, it also depends on what version of AJ pulls up to the fight. Moreover, Mayweather is not the only person who voted for Ngannou.
Tom Aspinall once underestimated Ngannou
In a recent interview with OLBG, Interim UFC Heavyweight Champion Tom Aspinall shared his thoughts on the upcoming Ngannou vs. Joshua bout. Having trained with Tyson Fury, Aspinall expressed his surprise at Ngannou’s ability to take ‘The Gypsy King’ into deep waters last year. “He’s obviously a much better boxer than everyone thought. I think his chances are quite high, beating Joshua,” he said. The Manchester-based MMA fighter sees Ngannou’s chances as substantial.
He also highlights the financial rewards and recognition the heavyweight fighter is gaining from these high-profile matchups. “If you’d have asked me that question one year ago, I would have said Joshua would have smoked Ngannou easily. In Joshua’s last fight, he looked really really good, he was really letting his hands go which we haven’t seen in a while,” he added, impressed by Ngannou’s last performance.
With the pundits leaning towards Ngannou, it becomes quite an imperative task for Joshua to protect his record and image as one of the best heavyweight boxers around to do what was hard even for Tyson Fury.
Do you think he will be able to achieve this? Or will AJ do what was left unaccomplished by Tyson Fury?
