Former UFC heavyweight king Francis Ngannou is a little over one month away from his fight with former two-time heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua; this a fight 37-year-old man-mountain Ngannou is certain he will win. And Ngannou, who is, as we know, just 0-1 as a pro boxer, gave AJ some chilling words when speaking on the High-Performance Podcast.
Ngannou, who some experts have said is a complete one-off, a once-in-a-lifetime fighting talent, has already said he will test Joshua’s chin, and now, “The Predator,” who overcame horrendous odds as a child and as a young man, has said he will “take his soul.”
“Never say never. Nothing is impossible. We don’t know the strength of Anthony Joshua,” Ngannou said. “Even though I don’t believe he has that strength, we’re going to find out. In two months, we’re going to find out. I’m going to be the one taking his soul.”
When Ngannou says AJ “doesn’t have the strength,” does he mean from a physical standpoint or from a mental standpoint? Perhaps Ngannou, who has without any shadow of a doubt shown both in spades, believes his upcoming ring rival is lacking both strength of chin and strength of character. This may seem like unjust accusations hurled at Joshua; after all, he is a two-time heavyweight ruler, and he showed so much heart in his winning fight with Wladimir Klitschko.
And of course, we do know AJ can box. Ngannou showed us a whole lot we didn’t know he had in his debut against Tyson Fury, however, and he might just be able to match Joshua for certain skills in the upcoming fight. For a while at least. But it sure sounds as though Ngannou intends to make the March 8 fight a test of strength, of power, of heart, of who wants it more.
If Ngannou is not outboxed and made to look far less skilled compared to the man who shared a ring with a perhaps out-of-shape, thoroughly overconfident Fury, and if he can instead make this one a brawl, Joshua will be in for the fight of his life. And as Ngannou said quite scarily, Joshua’s soul will be taken from him. Prior to this fight being signed, some people felt AJ was guilty of taking an easy cash grab. Ngannou says there will be absolutely nothing easy about the March fight.
I don’t know about you, but I cannot wait for this one!