RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA — There’s a saying in boxing that you’re only as good as your last fight. That being the case, Anthony Joshua, who destroyed former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in two rounds on Friday, is pretty good.
Joshua (28-3, 24 KOs) only landed 41 punches during the five-minute turkey shoot and the eight-second third. He landed 12 of them (seven jabs and five power punches), with three right-hand knockdowns that nearly ripped Ngannou’s head off his shoulders. As I reported last night from the ring, he was “a rookie against a pro.”
This big-money fight was built around Ngannou’s notable challenge to Tyson Fury in October. Ahead of that fight, “The Gypsy King” was expected to put on a display similar to Joshua’s last night. As Fury himself told TNT Sports before facing Ngannou: “He’s like a ping pong champion playing against Novak Djokovic.”
The event had the same feel as when Floyd Mayweather took on Conor McGregor in 2017. It was a celebrity-studded spectacle in Riyadh, packed with glitz and glamour, fancy pyrotechnics and a classy opening ceremony. However, when Fury showed up for what was seen as a kind of joke showdown, he soon realized that no one on Ngannou’s team was laughing.
Fury, the current WBC champion, won the fight by a 10-round split decision, but had the worst performance of his career. To take it a step further, it was arguably the worst performance by a reigning heavyweight champion in boxing history. Ngannou even managed to knock Fury down in the third round.
Joshua then knocks Ngannou unconscious and barely breaks a sweat, while Ngannou pushes Fury to the limit and almost loses the fight. Surely that means Joshua will be too much for Fury, right? Not necessarily.
The Jugo Mobile analyzes in depth AJ vs. Fury and the reasons why his respective fights against Ngannou need to be taken out of the equation.
If Fury struggled against Ngannou, how can he beat Joshua?
It does not work like that. For evidence, look no further than last night’s billboard in Riyadh.
In September 2022, British contender Joe Joyce scored a brutal 11th round knockout over former WBO champion Joseph Parker in Manchester. The following year, Joyce succumbed to two stoppage losses at the hands of Chinese goliath Zhilei Zhang.
Zhang should beat Parker, right? Mistaken! Last night, the New Zealand-born boxer and puncher survived two knockdowns to outsmart and outpoint Zhang over 12 rounds.
It’s the old cliché: styles make fights.
Was Fury fit for Ngannou?
During fight week, I tried to get someone, anyone, to finally confess that Fury wasn’t in shape for the Ngannou fight.
When I met Andy Lee, Joseph Parker’s trainer and a constant fixture in Fury’s camp, he disagreed. “Tyson was in good shape for Ngannou,” he told The Jugo Mobile. “If anything, he was overtrained.”
Lee is outspoken and one of the smartest men in boxing. It would be disrespectful of me to imply that he is not telling the truth, so I will go with his opinion on the matter.
However, since boxing is largely a mental game, I think anyone with an ounce of common sense knows that Fury was not prepared for the fight with Ngannou. This wasn’t the same athlete who tied Wladimir Klitschko in knots or put holes in Deontay Wilder.
Will Fury vs. Joshua?
Fury is scheduled to face Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed championship on May 18 in Riyadh. The British star is a slight favorite to beat the undefeated Ukrainian, although he could face the toughest fight of his 15-year professional career.
But win or lose the fight with Usyk, or the contractually agreed upon rematch, the Fury vs. Joshua will never go away. Even if Fury lost to Usyk twice, an all-British showdown between these two would generate massive interest and huge profits.
This is a fight between archrivals with completely different personalities and fighting styles. It’s as big now as ever. Sometimes a fight is too big not to happen.
Who wins Fury against Joshua?
It’s a complete cop-out, but we have to see how Fury looks against Usyk in May.
Last night we saw Joshua perform at his best, while Fury was at his worst against Ngannou. A lot can happen between now and Fury vs. AJ.
