Jim Lampley, the voice that doesn’t need an introduction in the boxing world, is gearing up to bring his sharp insights and no-nonsense commentary back to the masses via PPV.COM’s live stream. This time, it’s for the heavyweight tangle between Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou, set to shake Riyadh, Saudi Arabia next Friday. Fork over $69.99 to PPV.com, and you’re in for the live action without the hassle of a subscription!
Jim Lampley’s Expert Analysis
“It’s obvious there are games of tag now ongoing both in boxing’s heavyweight division and in the relevant/irrelevant relationship between boxing and MMA. Their effects show up as both logical (Joshua fighting the MMA star who made a sudden splash against his primary competitor for heavyweight attention in Great Britain) and illogical (Joshua projecting that it MEANS something to his boxing identity to do better against an MMA star than Fury did).
“So how much irrelevance will the combat sports market bear? Apparently, plenty. But having diluted some of his stardom both via a silly satellite TV vanity/reality show and then via the shock knockdown and disputed outcome of his tussle with Francis Ngannou, the once and future heavyweight champion Fury now turns back to serious business vs Oleksandr Usyk, the Ukrainian technician who twice outboxed Anthony Joshua somewhat in the shadow of Fury’s dramatic showdowns with Deontay Wilder.
“Joshua lost some, not all, of his once-majestic aura in the two small margin losses to Usyk. Ngannou is obviously something entirely different. As time goes by and there are more and more boxing matches governed by boxing rules between boxers (Joshua) and MMA combatants (Ngannou), it’s clear the technical gap is closing, and the MMA stars are finding more ways to compete — see Fury-Ngannou and the disputed razor-thin decision. But at the end of the day this fight, like its predecessors, takes place under boxing rules and that is still an advantage for Joshua. And with his very near miss against Fury, Ngannou has supplied Joshua with a potentially vital wake-up call, a useful scouting report, and massive motivation to gain public relations ground by indirectly embarrassing Fury.
“So, at this juncture, en route to Joshua v. Ngannou, there are some clear objectives in view.”
· “For Joshua, make sure the boxing match is a BOXING match. Use your jab, stay out of clinches, don’t get into a wrestling match against the rarity of a larger, stronger man.”
· “For Ngannou, shoot the moon, take risks, swing big when you see the target, maybe this time the knockdown will stick. Listen carefully to Mike Tyson if he is again in your camp, because a long time ago, Mike was classically trained by a legendary trainer, and he knows, as well as any active heavyweight, the technical realities of boxing.”
“If in the coming months both Fury and Joshua win, it is on to the dream matchup in Wembley Stadium British boxing fans have dreamed of for years. If Usyk and Ngannou win, that is forgotten, and we keep moving onward into the brave new combat world.”
