Francis Ngannou was a guest on The MMA Hour yesterday, and the former UFC heavyweight champ had plenty to say about his upcoming fight with former two-time heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua. Ngannou responded to Eddie Hearn’s claim that the fight will prove to be “easy money” for his guy Joshua, with Ngannou vowing to unleash “some bombs” in the fight.
Ngannou, laughing, said he has heard Joshua “doesn’t have a chin.”
“I’m going to find out,” he said.
The fight, one that has divided opinion, some feeling it IS a mismatch, with others excited about how much more Ngannou can do as a boxer after his unexpectedly good showing against Tyson Fury back in October. One things seems clear, Ngannou will look to take the fight to Joshua on the night.
The 37 year old spoke about how good he thought Joshua looked in his last fight, this against Otto Wallin:
“He looked amazing. Respect to him, congratulations to him,” Ngannou said of AJ. “He was doing his job properly, his speed there, everything. He was sharp, very sharp. But on the other hand, I think there wasn’t a response in front of him. I think I will have a better response in front of him that will put him not in such a comfortable position. Things will change. It’s going to be different. I’m going to throw some bombs out there for him to deal with. Eddie [Hearn] is a promoter, he says the same thing all the time….that’s what he does. The date is set, and if any of them think they’re going to have easy money, that’s too bad for them. If AJ takes the punch that Fury took, I don’t guarantee that he’s standing up. I’ve head that he doesn’t have a chin. I’m going to find out (laughs).”
It could be that we find out plenty about both Ngannou and Joshua in the March fight. It’s been some time since AJ was tagged by a “bomb,” and if – if – Ngannou can detonate one on his chin, it will be very interesting to see what happens. We never thought we’d see Ngannou deck Fury yet he did so, and now fans will be eager to see if Ngannou can hit, hurt and drop Joshua.
Ngannou, 0-1(0) is actually looking at possibly fighting Joshua, 27-3(24) twice.
“Eddie Hearn said a lot of s**t, but one thing he said that makes sense is maybe a potential rematch in Africa with Joshua,” Ngannou said. “I think that sounds cool. We will call that Black Excellence.”
Two fights between Joshua and Ngannou? One fight may well prove to be more than enough.