Anthony Joshua produced one of the finest performances of his career in a devastating knockout of Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia.
Joshua, a former two-time unified heavyweight champion, took a step closer to a blockbuster undisputed fight against Tyson Fury with a superior performance to his rival, who was made to work by the Cameroonian on his debut last October.
Joshua dropped the former UFC champion twice before a crushing third knockdown pinned Ngannou to the canvas in an emphatic stoppage.
The 34-year-old confirmed he is now in line to face the winner of Fury against Oleksandr Usyk, who beat ‘AJ’ twice previously.
Anthony Joshua sends message to Tyson Fury with apparent gun gesture
Anthony Joshua has expressed his desire to fight Tyson Fury next, having knocked out Francis Ngannou in devastating fashion on Friday.
Ex-UFC champion Ngannou made his boxing debut in October, dropping Fury in a shocking moment before losing a controversial decision. The Cameroonian did not come close to replicating that performance against Joshua, however, suffering a brutal second-round loss.
Briton Joshua, 34, dropped Ngannou, 37, in round one and did the same twice in round two. The final knockdown proved decisive, with Ngannou out cold on the canvas in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Joshua then seemed to make a gun gesture at his preferred next target, Fury, who was sat in the front row at the Kingdom Arena.
Speaking in the ring after the win, “AJ” said: “If that was me [losing], you’d be saying, ‘Joshua should retire.’ I don’t know if I’m in my peak. I’m pushing day by day, who knows where it will take me? In five years, I won’t be fighting no more, this will be a distant memory.
Joshua knocked out Ngannou in round two, five months after the Cameroonian dropped the ‘Gypsy King’
Source: INDEPENDENT UK
