Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou Preview & Picks
Anthony Joshua is tipped to knock out Francis Ngannou.
The surprise factor is gone and Joshua knows that if he avoids Ngannou’s power early, the fight is his to lose.
We expect a calculated start from Joshua before he moves through the gears to take out the ex-UFC champion.
- 24 of Anthony Joshua’s 27 wins have been by stoppage
- 7 of Joshua’s last 10 KO/TKO wins have come after round 5
- Anthony Joshua is 13-0 in non-world title fights
Anthony Joshua Form
Anthony Joshua is a two-time world heavyweight champion with a professional record of 27-3 (24 KOs).
Joshua became a world champion for the first time in April 2016, and went on to claim several titles prior to his first fight with Andy Ruiz Jr in June 2019.
He then surrendered the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO titles to Ruiz Jr in one of the biggest upsets in modern day boxing.
‘AJ’ dropped his challenger in that one, only to then be floored four times himself before the referee waved it off in the seventh round.
Joshua gained his revenge and regained those world titles later that year, beating Ruiz Jr on points in Saudi Arabia, and he then successfully defending them with a ninth-round knockout of Kubrat Pulev.
His reign proved to be brief though as he then suffered a unanimous decision defeat to former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in September 2021.
He then lost the rematch on points too, this time via split decision, before finally ending a two-and-a-half year wait for a win when he beat Jermain Franklin via unanimous decision in April 2023.
Joshua followed that up with a seventh-round stoppage of Robert Helenius that summer, before ending the year with a fifth-round stoppage of Otto Wallin.
Francis Ngannou Form
Francis Ngannou is a former UFC heavyweight champion who lost his professional boxing debut last year.
Ngannou quickly established himself as one of the premier fighters in the heavyweight division after debuting in the UFC in December 2015.
He reeled off a string of first-round knockout wins to earn a shot at the title in January 2018, but he was outclassed by Stipe Miocic on the night, losing on points.
‘The Predator’ then suffered an uninspiring decision defeat to Derrick Lewis later that year, but his response was strong.
Ngannou got back to winning ways with a first-round knockout of Curtis Blaydes, and the opening-round finishes then continued as he took out two former champions, Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos.
He then knocked out the dangerous Jairzinho Rozenstruik in just 20 seconds to earn another crack at the gold, and this time he took it.
The 37-year-old Cameroonian knocked out Miocic in the second round of their rematch to become heavyweight champion.
Ngannou then beat Ciryl Gane on points in his only defence of the title, before leaving the UFC after allowing his contract to expire.
He crossed over into professional boxing following his exit from the UFC, and in his debut he suffered a controversial split decision defeat to Tyson Fury in a non-title fight.
Ngannou was able to knock down Fury during the contest and many felt he had done enough to win on points, but two judges disagreed as they ruled in favour of the world champion.