Not going to complain about this fight after Ngannou beat Fury. Intriguing fight for me and the outcome is far from certain. Should MMA man land, Joshua will be in huge trouble and the lad can also take a punch. At last Joshua taking a risk and should be commended.
So much for wanting titles... I'm a bit meh about this tbh and not too interested beyond a curiosity regarding Ngannou's ability and whether he can pose a threat without the surprise element. Certainly won't be buying it.
I think it is a much better fight than Franklin, Helenius, Wallin and relieved that it is not a liberty fight against Wilder or a re-run of Whyte or Parker. Ngannou has a good defence, thunderous power and enters the ring with ambition to win. No problem at all with this fight and I don't see Joshua as a huge favourite in this fight. Victory here will be his 2nd best win after old Wlad.
More I think it through it's a terrible fight. Joshua spoke all year about rebuilding and looked mostly terrible while doing so. He finally had a decent performance at the end of the year which should have boosted his confidence massively and instead of giving down the title route decides to fight somebody with a 0-1 record? Man I hate this sport sometimes.
Surely we've seen nowhere near enough of Ngannou to make that final statement? I'd have rather seen Ngannou against a GK/fringe world level type opponent personally. Maybe I'll get more caught up in it post presser and when it gets close but it's not doing anything for me right now. Kind of feels like that Hearn is hoping Fury beats Usyk and is trying to build up to a potential Joshua Fury fight.
Joshua taking a risk against a guy in only his second fight? You are having a laugh, i despair. It is all about the money
Can only make a judgement based on what I seen in the ring and Ngannou won that fight. Fury was hurt, he was the one holding on like Okolie for most of the fight and had no idea how to turn the fight around. If he repeats that performance against Joshua, he has a great chance of taking him out.
I'd have to watch again but my initial thought was that despite Fury looking terrible he just about did enough. Not convinced Ngannou won five rounds at all. It'd be hilarious if he did knock Joshua out tbf. Like I say my one curiousity in this is whether Ngannou can repeat his performance without the surprise element. When is it scheduled for, March?
Ngannou is a much higher risk than the lot on Joshua's CV except old Wlad and Usyk. The loot is a given but this lad Ngannou showed me in the Fury fight that he is is no mug with a good defence. Should he land on Joshua, those shaky legs may be on a stretcher heading to Riyadh Hospital.
I had 4 figures on a Fury win, had no doubt I had lost my money when the bell went and saved by corruption. Fury is the top man in the era, subject to beating Usyk and Ngannou looked like he had his number all night. Joshua v Wilder was March 9 so this should be the date.