I was thinking, he is a muscle bound, 272 lbs man with a neck and head shaped like a cinder block, I'd have to assume AJ would have killed an average sized man with that punch.
AJ threw a picture perfect right down the pike. Twist the wrist at the end and got the full extension. Ngannou took it on the chin. Any heavyweight would struggle to take that punch. So as of now, no his chin isn’t in the glass category. Yet.
But Fury did try on several elbows - you wouldn’t do that if contriving to carry your opponent. The elbows, imo, were a clear sign of Fury’s frustration and desperation during the fight.
The fact the ref didn't take a point from this almost makes me feel like the ref and judges were in the bag for Fury This content is protected Maybe the mistake was Ngannou playing it off and not reacting like 99% of boxers would have to that.
Francis was sufficiently cognisant to take 8-9 counts before arising for the first two KDs. Fighters can actually learn how to take shots in sparring in order to prevent them losing their head or panicking. Ali had a great chin but he spent years in sparring learning how to take and cope with punishment. Francis was so open to the right, especially after the stance switch, that it makes me wonder how much proper sparring he did and whether his partners were of sufficient quality to alert him to formulate a better defence against the straight right hand. Francis definitely appeared just as much shocked as he was hurt after the first KD. A very alien experience for him at every level. Ultimately, we’re still talking a two fight pro who is basically 1-1 after facing two of the best that the division has to offer. I think the Boxing vs MMA angle has some wanting to flush Francis down the toilet faster than what is actually warranted. If AJ was the rubber stamped 1 fight Boxing pro, MMA guy as at the time, there’s a good chance that he might’ve been similarly dismissed when he was blown away by Andy Ruiz - and, no disrespect to AJ, but, ultimately, he did kind of give up in that fight - and that was AJ’s own “alien” experience - which Francis has just been subjected to himself. AJ’s post fight words to Francis struck me to some extent as having the tone of “been there, done that” in so far as suffering a dramatic defeat goes. Again, maybe I’m reading too deep, lol.
Yeah, the way the fight was unpacking, it wasn’t highly speculative to understand that a point or more taken away from Fury would’ve made all the difference to the decision. I can def. see the truth in the ref/judges steering away from that - allowing Fury every chance to pull it out of the bag. He also got another 23 seconds to recuperate after a KD (as he did against Wilder). Both instances of same were ridiculous, tbh.
LOL, why?? ngannou is a bit smaller than joyce. Stupid assertion. Put him in the same ring with zhang or wilder, he will need "Miracle Max" to wake him up instead of only an oxygen mask. Everything around ngannou is so stupid. Biggest puncher everrrrr!!!! (reality: he hasnt KO's noone) Strongest chin everrrr!!!!!!!! (reality: the first serious fight he fought, and he went down thrice in two rounds and needed an oxygen mask to wake up after 5 minutes. AJ is not even the strongest puncher in the division, and since compubox he only connected a total of 5 power punches) He isss a giaaaaaaaanttttt!!! (reality: he's smaller than joe joyce) He isss an outstanding boxer because he trained in the gyyyymmmmm!!!! (reality: he can't even move his head, good amateur level skills at the very very best) It is so stupid. As I said, now that he's 0/2/0 put him in the ring with zhang, joyce or wilder, you will not stop untill you kill him, idiots!
It's hilarious how one fight can change narratives instantly around here... And how the fanboys and hypetrain passengers don't even think through the implications of their flip-flopping. Before AJ, Ngannou had a cast iron chin because MMA couldn't crack it and Tyson "God" Fury couldn't so much as scuff it, nevermind dent it. Then AJ knocks him out so decisively he needs oxygen to come around and suddenly it's glass. Well here's the implementation... Fury, who knocked out Wilder, is clearly even more feather fisted (and feather elbowed) than anyone thought, because he was bouncing off glass. And that means Wilder isn't even packing glass, he's something even more fragile than that - eggshell perhaps? Or, perhaps, it's much simpler than that... Francis had/has a pretty decent chin but no real defence or understanding of rolling with punches - and much like Wilder scored loads of devastating KO's by loading up on guys who were mediocre fighters, Joshua did exactly the same thing to Francis (probably with similar power - which he doesn't get to show as often because his opponents aren't usually as pathetic as Wilder's usually were).
Bingo. So... Suddenly lots of us recognise that it's easy to lay down devastating KO's on limited fighters - but Wilder's power myth persists even though his resume is almost entirely journeymen, with a couple of gatekeepers thrown in?
1. Fury didnt take that fight seriously, he went to an exhibition. Anyone denying it is blind or worse. 2. 5 punches is all it took for ngannou to drop 3 times and need an oxygen mask. Five, regardless of the defense. I wont say it is glass, but for sure it is not the sturdiest chin ever.
And that changed him from a murderous puncher into a sub-feather fisted non-puncher? Cmon man... Yes, that's why he struggled when he shouldn't have - but it doesn't explain why the punches he did land were ineffective. They're big punches from one of the bigger hitters in the division - and they're full impact, he didn't do anything to soften them. To take those at all requires a decent chin. It's nowhere near glass - it's a standard thing around here, though, to jump straight to the extremes... Chins are either granite or glass Francis chin was probably well above average, but that doesn't mean he was immune to being knocked out (because nobody is - plenty of guys with decent chins get knocked out occasionally, including Parker, Joyce, even Chisora, etc).
Does anybody has an educated guess what the hell happened in the ngannou-fury fight ? Aj was so easily able to overhelm ngannou,s defense and knock him out cold that fury should have been able to at least control every round and clearly win - even coming into the ring straight out of a pub .
The average world top HW boxer can take more than 5 power punches from joshua. Good chins like Joyce's could take life changing beatings like the one he took vs zhang. Ngannou's chin is average at best, nothing more. I wont say glass because a glass jaw probably would have been broken even by a lazy unmotivated Fury not taking the fight seriously, but this jaw is nothing special at all. Anyway, whatever his chin WAS, it WAS. There is every likelihood that, unless a miracle, his chin will never be the same after this fight.
Not without taking the sting out of them a touch - which Francis didn't. And even then... Joshua doesn't throw that hard very often because it leaves you open, it's risky if you're fighting serious guys (which he sometimes does, and has). That's always been why Wilder's been able to load up - he's not fought dangerous guys. Joyce couldn't take the beating from Zhang, that's kinda the point... And also, Zhang's punches coming from nowhere but still with good power is what makes them so dangerous - it's harder to pick them and roll with them. Zhang's lack of telegraph allowed him to do to Joyce what AJ was able to do to Francis with what should've been an obviously telegraphed swing to an experienced boxer (which Francis isn't).