Francis Ngannou backed to turn in KO win over Anthony Joshua in March boxing fight: ‘We can find him in the pocket’
Former undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou has been backed to land a knockout win over former world titleholder, Anthony Joshua in the pair’s March boxing match in Riyadh, with his head coach, Eric Nicksick confident of the Cameroonian’s ability to stop the Brit in close.
Ngannou, a former undisputed heavyweight champion under the banner of the UFC, made his professional boxing debut back in August of last year in Saudi Arabia, suffering a close, split decision loss to unbeaten WBC heavyweight titleholder, Tyson Fury in the pair’s grudge fight.
As for Joshua, the Watford native headlined a ‘Day of Reckoning’ billed card in the Middle East back in December of last year, landing his third consecutive victory since his title loss, with a corner’s stoppage TKO win over Swedish contender, Otto Wallin.
Francis Ngannou backed to KO Anthony Joshua in March
And taking on Francis Ngannou in the Middle East in a massive heavyweight clash in March, Joshua has been warned by the Batié native’s coach, Nicksick, that if he leaves his chin open in the pocket, it will be ultimately found.
“He’s (Anthony Joshua) more of a plot fighter, kind of works well behind his jab, but I feel like we can find him there in the pocket rather than having to chase him down or try to hunt him down,” Nicksick told MMA Fighting. “So, there’s some differences there, but by that style of fight, if he’s going to be there in the pocket, Francis (Ngannou) will find you.”
In his most recent walk in mixed martial arts, Ngannou turned in a successful heavyweight title retention win in a championship unification bout against then-interim gold holder, Ciryl Gane back in 2022, handing the Frenchman his first professional loss in the sport.
