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Former Champion Carl Froch Names Francis Ngannou “Natural Born Killer” While Cautioning Anthony Joshua of What’s Coming at Him Ahead of March Clash

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Anthony Joshua

It’s a fight that a boxing die-hard would kill for. But it is also a fight that many would rather leave for their dreams. From one corner comes Anthony Joshua. A pedigreed Olympic gold medalist who later became a unified world champion. ‘AJ’ won the last three matches. From the opposite, arrives Francis Ngannou.

A one-match old boxing novice. He, however, comes off a nearly decade-long exemplary mixed martial arts career that saw him eventually become a world heavyweight champion. So what chance does ‘The Predator’ have against a seasoned boxer? Defying heavy odds, the Cameroonian-French fighter shook up Tyson Fury last October. So could he repeat the performance against Joshua, or better yet, go beyond? Can ‘AJ’ rely on his latest triumphs and cultivate the confidence to see him through Ngannou? The former super middleweight champion and International Hall of Fame inductee dove deep to see what might be in store for the former heavyweight champion.

So who’s the prey?

It was Carl Froch‘s turn. With nearly a month-and-a-half left for the big bout, the Englishman shared how he had been critical of it. When Francis Ngannou went against Tyson Fury, everyone’s opinion changed when they saw the way he fought. In a lot of ways, Ngannou made a mockery of the heavyweight division. So even though he lost, it wasn’t a resounding victory a professional boxer could be proud of.

Anthony Joshua

Hence, in his opinion, the match with Joshua could be inconsistent. But the thought remains unaligned with how Francis Ngannou dealt with Tyson Fury. Instead, it has more to do with whether Anthony Joshua has been able to make a successful return and the way it’s been projected.

He said, “So now what I’m saying is it’s not a mismatch because of what Ngannou did to Fury….. but I thoroughly expect Anthony Joshua, who’s been busy; he’s had three fights last year….he’s got bags of experience; he seems to be getting more confident now; he seems to be getting that mojo back; that mindset seems to be coming; …that Anthony Joshua might just be back, but the only caveat to that is is he back; we don’t know…”

He reasoned that the three fighters he fought last year—Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius, and Otto Wallin—never went against him, displaying any spirit to win. Debatably, he appeared a bit motivated against Helenius. However, the equations change when it boils down to Ngannou.

Anthony Joshua walking into ‘The Predator’s Lair

The mixed martial artist might be his equal in terms of strength. But he appears way too big and heavy for Joshua. All in all, he has the natural instincts of a killer. “Mindset of a killer, he is a killer, a born killer. Natural Born Killer look at his background story; look where he comes from; look at what he’s done in the MMA world; he’s going to be coming to Anthony Joshua, sticking it on hi

So he would be going all-out against Joshua. How the British boxer would respond, time alone will tell since it is difficult to anticipate based on his last three bouts, the former super middleweight champion emphasized.

In his final analysis, Carl Froch rued the fact that Anthony Joshua changed as a boxer after suffering his first loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. It might be said that he has improved, but whether he has returned to the way he used to fight earlier remains a big question.

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BOXING

Anthony Joshua insists he has ‘never left’ top of boxing scene ahead of Francis Ngannou fight

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Anthony Joshua

Anthony Joshua insists he has “never left” the top of heavyweight boxing as he prepares for his March clash against Francis Ngannou.

Joshua will fight former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou on March 8 in Saudi Arabia.

Two-time world champion Joshua lost his WBO, IBF, and WBA belts to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 before losing a rematch to the Ukrainian the following year.

He has since beaten Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius and, in his most recent bout on December 23, Otto Wallin, when the Swedish fighter was pulled out by his corner after five rounds

In an interview with Sky News’ Jacquie Beltrao, Joshua said of his place in the top level of boxing: “I’ve never left!

“I’ll always be [there]. From the minute I’ve laced up these gloves from the amateurs until now, I’ve managed to keep my name at the top of the amateur scene and the professional scene.

Anthony Joshua

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BOXING

Anthony Joshua vs Deontay Wilder is not dead yet and can still happen on one condition

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Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder

Anthony Joshua vs Deontay Wilder could still happen in the future.

The long-awaited heavyweight showdown was finally signed to take place in March in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, so long as both men won their fights in December.

AJ did his job in stopping Otto Wallin, however Wilder was comprehensively beaten by Joseph Parker in a major upset which scuppered plans.

The fight was scrapped as a result and His Excellency Turki Alalshikh (chairman of Saudi’s General Entertainment Authority – GEA) has put together a deal for Joshua to fight Francis Ngannou on March 8 instead.

Anthony Joshua

Despite this though, he has now given a new interview in which he’s insisted that AJ vs Wilder can still happen one day, so long as the American stages a successful comeback.

“We don’t want to waste time,” Alalshikh told DAZN.

“Tyson Fury is 35 now, Anthony Joshua is 34, Oleksandr Usyk is 37, Deontay Wilder is 38, Artur Beterbiev is 39 next week. We are losing time.

“The people need to see Fury vs Joshua, Joshua vs Wilder – I mean, I hope Wilder comes back.

“The fight between Joshua and Wilder [was signed].

“But you see the result [vs Joseph Parker] and the body condition of Wilder now, so it would not be reasonable to have the fight now. We want him to come back.”

For the time being, Alalshikh has made it clear that his plan is for the winner of AJ vs Ngannou to challenge for the undisputed heavyweight world titles.

Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will do battle for all four belts on February 17, with Joshua undoubtedly eyeing the winner.

Wilder will have to seriously impress to force his way back into the mix, but Alalshikh does intend to give him a pathway to do so.

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BOXING

Anthony Joshua To Face Francis Ngannou In Saudi Arabia Bout

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Anthony Joshua

On March 8, less than three months after stopping Otto Wallin in the Middle East to rekindle his career, Anthony Joshua will face former UFC heavyweight world champion Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia.

Last year, Ngannou(17-3-0, 12KOs) nearly took the boxing champion by surprise by dropping him before losing by a slim margin of points.

Joshua(27-3, 24KOs) a 34-year old boxer from England is most likely to defeat Ngannou an MMA fighter from Cameroon, who is fighting in his second professional boxing match. Furthermore, the final undefeated heavyweight champion, Lennox Lewis, has forewarned the former two-time champion that he will not get any insight from the bout.

“IMO, this fight adds ZERO credibility to AJ’s resume,” wrote Lennox Lewis on social media.

Anthony Joshua

“He’s SUPPOSED to win this fight and when he does, what does he gain or learn by beating someone in his second heavyweight fight? If he loses, than it’s an absolute disaster. The same stood for Fury and it almost cost him everything,” he added.

“Listen in to yesterday.. the winner fights the winner of Fury vs Usyk for undisputed and when AJ joins your club I know you will be delighted for him,” said Eddie Hearn Joshua’s promoter  responding to Lewis.

Hearn was making reference to Joshua’s chance to challenge Ngannou for the undisputed title, which Joshua may acquire if he defeats the Ngannou from Saudi Arabia.

The first such champion since Lewis in 1999 will be crowned on February 17th, when Fury and Oleksandr Usyk square off. Since Filip Hrgovic has been Usyk’s mandatory challenger to the IBF title for a long time, it was believed that the belts would split immediately. Hearn, though, is optimistic that Joshua will get his chance.

Anthony Joshua

As the Saudi organizers get ready to wrap up Riyadh Season with another heavyweight bout, fighting Ngannou can keep Joshua motivated. Organizing massive athletic events has cost Saudi Arabia millions of dollars, and some argue that this unprecedented spending is meant to boost its reputation abroad and draw attention away from its violations of human rights and environmental degradation.

“Claims of ‘sportswashing’ are “very shallow,” and the investment is boosting the country’s economy, opening it up to tourism and inspiring people to be more active,” said  Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al Faisal Saudi Arabia’s sports minister.

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BOXING

Ben Davison: Francis Ngannou is a Very Credible Opponent For Anthony Joshua

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Best laid plans often go to waste in boxing but when Ben Davison took over the reigns of Anthony Joshua’s training team, he probably assumed he would spend the first part of 2024 preparing the two-time unified heavyweight champion for a shootout with Deontay Wilder.

When Joseph Parker outboxed a disappointing Wilder in December, Joshua’s team quickly pivoted to a fight with Francis Ngannou on March 8th. The opponent may have changed but after guiding Joshua to an impressive fifth round stoppage of Otto Wallin last time out, Davison isn’t taking the fight with the mixed martial artist any less seriously .

Ngannou, of course, came close to scoring one of the biggest shocks of all time last October when he dropped WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in the third round and pushed him to the wire before losing a split decision.

Many have assumed that as well as Ngannou did in his professional boxing debut, he was helped by Fury wildly underestimating him. Davison doesn’t subscribe to that school of thought.

“I know Tyson, obviously. I’ve worked with him,” Davison said at the Joshua-Ngannou launch press conference this week. “He’s a very professional athlete. He takes his job very seriously. He would have prepared properly for Ngannou. Now, mentally sometimes it’s hard to put yourself in that position where you fully have respect for the opponent. Even though you’re trying to do all the right things, sometimes that’s not there. Only he can answer those questions, but Ngannou shocked all of us and I think he’s a very credible opponent.”

Anthony Joshua

The relationship between a fighter and their trainer is the most important in boxing. There are times when trainers have to ask their fighters to do unnatural things in the ring and when they get off their stool and head back into battle, the boxer needs to do so with total belief that the man on the other side of the ropes has given them the right instructions. For Davison, that bond is the most important thing to have emerged from the relatively short amount of time he and Joshua have spent working together.

“I can’t speak for him but my experience is [that he’s] extremely coachable,” he said. “I feel like trust got built to a certain point where I needed it to be just before the Otto Wallin fight. There was a few things before going into the fight where I was extremely confident that that trust was there. Now, each fight is different and you have to keep building on that but I think that the way we coach suits the type of character that he is.”

Davison and his assistant, Lee Wylie, are renowned for forensically breaking down fighters but when somebody of Joshua’s caliber walks through the gym door it is a case of simplifying matters and reminding them what they are good at. Joshua doesn’t need to be shown how to throw a jab or a right hand to the body but he can be shown when to throw them and told why he is doing so. Having spent a long time seemingly caught between styles and unsure of himself, Joshua looked confident and relaxed against Wallin.

“People were going, ‘Ben’s rejuvenated A.J.’ It’s a load of nonsense,” Davison said. “He’s an Olympic gold medalist. Those are the skills he’s always had. All that we’ve done is helped him to understand, ‘These are the tools you’ve got that we think will work for that job and these are the tools that you’ve got that we think will work for that job.’ That’s our job really.

“Lee Wylie says this about football. Pep Guardiola doesn’t tell Cristiano Ronaldo to kick the football a little bit more with this part of the foot. He teaches the team how to play in a system against another team and that’s what we do as coaches at this level.”

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BOXING

Lennox Lewis questions whether Anthony Joshua will deserve an undisputed fight against Tyson Fury if he beats Francis Ngannou – as he names the two boxers he should fight next

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Lennox Lewis

Lennox Lewis has questioned whether Anthony Joshua ‘deserves’ a shot at the undisputed heavyweight title if he defeats Francis Ngannou.

The British boxing legend, 58, is a three-time heavyweight champion and the last to hold the undisputed championship.

Joshua could potentially have a chance to become the best heavyweight on the planet after he fights former UFC champion Ngannou in Saudi Arabia in March.

Just a month earlier, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are fighting to become the divison’s undisputed champion.

Writing on social media, Lewis doubted whether Joshua should be given the chance to fight the winner of these two.

He said: ‘OK, Eddie Hearn, I know this is the promoter in you speaking, so I’ll break it down like the boxing fan I am.

Anthony Joshua

‘If AJ beats Ngannou, which he should, does that elevate him to a shot at undisputed? Beating Wallin and Ngannou? There’s a much better case for the winner of Joseph Parker vs Zhilei Zhang.

‘And if AJ gets through Ngannou, and Usyk wins undisputed, is the appetite for Usyk vs Joshua 3 out there? If Fury becomes undisputed, the man says he’s vacating all belts but the WBC and Ring so Fury in effect becomes last undisputed until someone else can Thanos them back together.

‘I still want to see AJ fight Fury and Wilder… those are big fights. But like I told Mike Tyson, if you keep fighting guys like Lou Savarese, you will NEVER be ready for me.’

Earlier this week, it was revealed that Frank Warren is prepared to make a sensational million pound bet with Eddie Hearn over their rival Matchroom and Queensberry companies.

The legendary boxing promoter was speaking with Mail Sport’s Charlotte Daly after the Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou press conference in London.

‘We’ve got to sort out the weights,’ Warren said. ‘Because there’s five fights, there will be a winner one of the teams will win unless we get a draw.

‘To make it a little bit more spicy, I’d like to have a wager on it with [Hearn] as well. [I’d be willing to bet] a million pounds.’

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BOXING

‘I want them’ – Gervonta Davis and Devin Haney eyed by Saudi Arabia, but no more YouTuber fights after Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury

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Gervonta Davis and Devin Haney are the latest names to be targeted for fights in Saudi Arabia in the near future.

Less than six months after entering the sport, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh (chairman of Saudi’s General Entertainment Authority – GEA) has made a serious impact.

The first two shows backed by the GEA have seen Tyson Fury, Francis Ngannou, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder all travel to fight in Riyadh, supported by several other top names from the sport.

Fury will now fight Oleksandr Usyk there on February 17, and this will be followed shortly afterwards by AJ vs Ngannou on March 8.

And the plans don’t stop there as Alalshikh has made it clear that he wants to stage Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol in June.

Now, in an interview with DAZN, he has spoken in depth about his plans and revealed that Davis and Haney are two names he wants to bring to Saudi.

“I want him [Davis] and I send message now to Al Haymon [Davis’ advisor] – let’s do the job brother,” Alalshikh said.

Gervonta Davis

“I want to see Haney in my country and I send message now to him. I will try to do it in 2024.”

Asked if he would like to match them against one another, Alalshikh indeed gave a nod of approval.

However, he is not the first person to stage big-time boxing in Saudi Arabia.

Previously, Skill Challenge Entertainment hosted fights such as the Joshua vs Andy Ruiz rematch and the Joshua vs Usyk rematch in the country.

They also staged Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury in Diriyah last year.

There won’t be any further such YouTuber boxing events moving forwards though, as Alalshikh is adamant that he’s a boxing purist.

“Please, we don’t want any YouTuber fights again,” he insited.

“I want fighters, this is what I support. For me, inside my heart, I want the fighters.”

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BOXING

“Better Than Devin Haney”: Message for His Haters and Training Montage in Gervonta Davis’ Recent Post Leaves Fans Stunned

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Gervonta Davis

There might not be a fight in sight for Gervonta Davis yet, but he keeps his fans entertained. Today, the Baltimore native turned to social media, sharing a bunch of life updates with his devoted fans. Of late, ‘Tank’ has been engrossed in a social media scrap with his fellow undefeated boxer Devin Haney regarding a potential fight between them.

After refusing $20 million last year, the Saudis have offered a lucrative opportunity for Davis and Haney to get in the ring and put an end to the debate of who is the best. However, the stars don’t seem to be aligned the right way, as nothing has come out of it yet. Resulting in ‘Tank’ receiving hate from the community, so the 29-year-old had something to say through his Instagram post.

Gervonta Davis: “I cannot be sitting ‘round stressed”

Among everything else, Davis’ post included a picture of himself in the gym, sitting by the wall, boxing gloves on, talking to someone outside the frame. A right swipe away, ‘Tank’ had a message for his haters. He wrote, “I come out on top and escape s**t. I cannot be sitting ’round stressed. Even when I’m down, I know how to play it.”

A couple of swipes more, and there’s an intense clip of Davis hitting the pads at supersonic speeds. Keep swiping – there’s a unique Cartier watch and more swipes, a tweet from Glory Boy that read, “These ni**as is too C**k sucker.” Davis’ posts have always needed a cipher to decipher, but that did not stop his fans from expressing their excitement through the comment section.

Fans demand to know the fight date

Gervonta Davis

The responses to the post ranged from questions about his return to the ring to comparisons with Devin Haney. One user demanded Davis to announce his next fight. “Announce your next f**ken fight already,” wrote the user. While a fight with Haney is possible, no one is sure if Davis would take up a difficult fight after being out of the ring for eight months at this point.

Another user questioned Davis about an ankle monitor. The user wrote, “Ankle monitor?” Davis is currently serving his prohibition, stemming from a guilty plea regarding his November 2020 car crash that injured four people.

Someone else revealed they were looking for a fight date, swiping through the images Davis shared. “Me swiping through the thread fast af thinking it’s a date in there somewhere,” wrote the user. There obviously wasn’t a date in there, resulting in more wait for the fan

The next user asserted Davis vs. Haney is a fan-favorite fight, urging Davis to make the fight happen. The user’s comment read, “You and Devin, a real fight, fan favorite, make it happen, tank.” As per Davis’ actions of late, that fight might not happen very soon.

One devoted fan boldly declared Davis was better than Devin Haney. “Better than devin haney,” wrote the user.

After Davis expressed his thoughts and emotions through the Instagram post, some fans were left excited while others – not so much. What did you think of the post?

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BOXING

“Why TF Would I Be Scared”: Gervonta Davis Makes Snarky Remarks in Retaliation Against Shawn Porter, Devin Haney

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Gervonta Davis

Devin Haney and Gervonta Davis are probably the biggest names in the current sport of boxing. The rivalry between the two has been going on for a long time now. Last year it seemed like the two would end up facing one another as the talks between them started heating up after Haney’s victory over Regis Prograis. So how come the two didn’t manage to secure the fight?

Ultimately the fight ended up getting scrapped and Haney moved to Ryan Garcia after getting no indication from Davis of the fight moving forward. Bill Haney claimed that Davis had turned down a $20 million offer for the fight. This caused a lot of fans to blame Tank for ducking Haney. However, it seems that Davis has found a way to prove that he is not afraid of Haney. Here’s what he claimed as he brought up his sparring session with the former world champion, Shawn Porter.

Gervonta Davis uses Shawn Porter to prove his ability

Shawn Porter appeared to be full of praises for Tank as he shared his rationale during the session. Porter claimed that he was more focused on assessing if Davis lived up to his reputation or not. He acknowledged that “Tank is the real deal”, though he chalked his performance up to him focusing more on analyzing Tank and it seems that Davis wasn’t too happy with his comments.

Here’s what Davis wrote as he took to Twitter, “Now, ask Shawn this question. if I beat his a** in the gym and he was over 147lbs… why tf would I be scared to fight a *f w just a nose… sh*t not adding up!”. Through this statement, Davis is conveying that he doesn’t fear opponents in higher weight classes thus claiming that he is not afraid to face Haney. Interestingly, Haney has another contender looking for a potential bout.

Adrien Broner calls out Bill Haney

Gervonrta Davis

In a recent exchange of words, Bill Haney, father and manager of rising boxing star Devin Haney, expressed a desire for high-profile fights for his son. However, the unexpected counterpunch came from Adrien Broner, known for his boldness, who took the battle to Instagram. Broner’s post featured a visual comparison of their boxing records, emphasizing his own impressive 35-4-0, with 24 KOs, against Haney’s undefeated 31-0-0 record, with only 15 KOs.

In a confrontational caption, Broner challenged Bill Haney. He wrote, “Ah @billhaney__ if you wanna get your son @realdevinhaney f**ked up send the contract I ain’t never ran from no man in boxing why would I run from your son he can’t punch himself out a wet paper bag stop all that cap cause I’m with the sh*t and I want all the smoke show me the dotted line!!!!!”.

This unexpected twist unveils a deeper game at play. Beyond the fight negotiations, it brings attention to the narrative building around the potential bout. Will Broner end up fighting Haney next? Only time will tell. In the meantime do share your thoughts about the situation in the comments below.

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BOXING

Anthony Joshua sent “absolute disaster” warning ahead of Francis Ngannou fight

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Anthony Joshua

Boxing legend Lennox Lewis has told Anthony Joshua that defeat by Francis Ngannou is unthinkable.

Joshua will take on former UFC heavyweight world champion Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on March 8, less than three months since he stopped Otto Wallin in the Middle East to reignite his career. Ngannou, meanwhile, almost shocked Tyson Fury last year when he dropped the boxing champion before losing a narrow points decision.

Joshua is the odds-on favourite to stop Ngannou who will be taking part in only his second-ever professional boxing fight. And Lewis, the last undisputed heavyweight champion, has warned the former two-time champion he won’t learn anything from the fight. “IMO, this fight adds ZERO credibility to AJ’s resume,” Lewis wrote on social media. “He’s SUPPOSED to win this fight and when he does, what does he gain or learn by beating someone in his second heavyweight fight? If he loses, than it’s an absolute disaster. The same stood for Fury and it almost cost him everything.”

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn responded to Lewis, saying: “Listen in to yesterday.. the winner fights the winner of Fury vs Usyk for undisputed and when AJ joins your club I know you will be delighted for him.” Hearn was referring to a promise from his Saudi Arabian paymasters that Joshua can earn a shot at the undisputed crown should he beat Ngannou.

Anthony Joshua

Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will meet on February 17 to crown the first such champion since Lewis in 1999. The belts had been expected to splinter in the immediate aftermath with Filip Hrgovic the long-standing mandatory challenger to Usyk’s IBF title. But Hearn is confident Joshua will be granted his shot.

“The winner of this fight fights the winner of Fury-Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight world championship,” he said. “I mean, for Ngannou, to fight for the undisputed championship in his third fight- could be a rematch with Fury. Could be the undisputed heavyweight world champion. For us, and for AJ, we’ve dreamed about that for so many years.

“I just said to AJ before the face-to-face, ‘Two wins and your undisputed heavyweight world champion.’ And I believe, he’s going to do it, I really do. I know I’m a fanboy but I believe he’s going to beat Ngannou and I believe he’s going to beat Tyson Fury. I will just say February 17, Oleksandr Usyk, I love you, but Tyson Fury you’ve got to win this fight because AJ, once he goes for Ngannou, we gotta make it happen. So good luck to both, but it’s just what I see. How exciting is that for boxing?”

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