Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou’s boxing dream seems to be over. Ngannou was thunderously stopped by Anthony Joshua final Friday in Saudi Arabia. It took lower than two rounds for the previous unified heavyweight king to go away Ngannou out chilly on the canvas.
In an attention-grabbing second in heavyweight historical past, the struggle despatched each males in wildly totally different instructions. Joshua, a two-time former unified heavyweight champion, has momentum in spades and looks as if a transparent option to struggle for a world title — although that is simpler mentioned than performed. In the meantime, Ngannou faces a selection between taking much less illustrious fights within the boxing ring or returning to the MMA cage the place he’d grow to be one of many sport’s hottest fighters whereas rising to the highest of the division.
To really perceive what’s subsequent for each Ngannou and Joshua, let’s check out all of the circumstances surrounding each them and their respective fights.
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Francis Ngannou
Sadly for Ngannou, the struggle with Joshua was a brutal actuality examine. In Fury, he fought a person who appeared to point out up out of practice and didn’t take the previous UFC champion as a critical menace. There was additionally the stylistic element, with Fury having made his bones through the use of his weight, fairly actually, by leaning on fighters within the clinch and tiring them out. In Ngannou, he bumped into a person extra versed within the clinch primarily based on his MMA profession than any boxer.
Joshua is a pure boxer. A embellished beginner and world champion who depends on pure boxing and who had already seen what occurs while you fail to take Ngannou severely within the boxing ring. Joshua keyed in on Ngannou’s lack of expertise, utilizing a jab, and feints with that jab, to get Ngannou to divulge heart’s contents to the correct hand that knocked him down thrice, the ultimate time leading to a brutal knockout.
Is there any curiosity in Joshua preventing somebody under the elite degree of the division? Joseph Parker has largely neutralized Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang, two heavy-hitting precise boxers. Zhang has cardio points and is not at all times a high-output fighter, however he has tons of energy and an iron chin. There could also be juice in a struggle between Ngannou and Wilder, however Wilder barely threw any punches towards Parker and did not look notably motivated to be within the ring. Wilder can also be one of many pound-for-pound hardest punchers in boxing historical past.
All of that is to say: It is time for Francis Ngannou to return to combined martial arts.
Ngannou is underneath contract with PFL and has but to struggle of their cage. At February’s PFL vs. Bellator occasion, Renan Ferreira knocked out Ryan Bader and it was mentioned the winner could be in line to struggle Ngannou. Had Ngannou beat Joshua, that won’t have been within the playing cards. Now, Ngannou wants one thing to get some momentum again and a return to the game the place he ought to nonetheless be acknowledged because the world’s finest heavyweight definitely suits the invoice.
Anthony Joshua
After dropping back-to-back fights to Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua was at a scary level in his profession. A struggle with Fury has at all times been prime of the listing for Joshua. It could be an enormous struggle for the game and even larger within the U.Ok. However each time discuss has begun for that struggle, it has stalled out. The losses to Usyk eliminated all of Joshua’s momentum, to not point out that it arrange Fury vs. Usyk for an undisputed championship bout.
Joshua did the correct factor, getting again within the ring and first defeating Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius in considerably uninspiring performances earlier than trying excellent towards Otto Wallin and Ngannou. In all honesty, Joshua continues to be doubtless the No. 3 heavyweight boxer on the planet however his subsequent step is considerably murky.
A lot of what is subsequent for Joshua in all probability comes right down to what occurs in Could when Fury faces Usyk. The 2 have a rematch clause within the contract. If the loser of the bout does select to activate that clause, the IBF has already mentioned they are going to strip the winner for not preventing obligatory challenger Filip Hrgovic, with no exceptions to be given.
Ought to that occur, it’s doable that Joshua would struggle Hrgovic for the vacant IBF title. It could be an opportunity for Joshua to regain one of many titles he has twice held and grow to be a world champion for a 3rd time.
If Usyk and Fury do not rematch, the winner might select to take the obligatory protection towards Hrgovic to retain their standing as undisputed champion. Or, they may select to go for a extra profitable struggle, doubtless towards Joshua, whereas dropping the IBF belt.
There’s additionally the chance that, ought to Fury win, he’ll observe by on earlier statements that he’ll vacate each title besides the WBC championship, resulting in one thing of a free-for-all within the heavyweight division the place males like Parker, Joshua, Hrgovic and others would all have official claims at world title fights.
Joshua and promoter Eddie Hearn mentioned that Turki Alalshikh assured the winner of his struggle with Ngannou a shot on the winner of Fury vs. Usyk. However Joshua already has two losses to Usyk and considered one of Fury’s favourite hobbies is trolling Joshua. So nothing is actually assured for Joshua and nearly every thing comes right down to what occurs between Usyk and Fury in Could, and within the following months.