Francis Ngannou thinks he'll knock out Anthony Joshua: 'He's easier to send down than Fury'

The chances could as soon as once more be stacked towards him, however Francis Ngannou not solely expects to beat Anthony Joshua in his return to boxing, however he thinks he can end him.

The previous UFC heavyweight champion will return to the ring March 8 to field Joshua in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Ngannou is coming off a extremely aggressive cut up resolution loss to WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury this previous October. Ngannou knocked Fury down within the battle, and plenty of observers thought he did sufficient to get the decision in his professional boxing debut. Towards Joshua, Ngannou expects to get his hand raised – and sure earlier than the ultimate bell.

“I believe almost certainly (I’m) knocking Anthony Joshua out,” Ngannou stated on The MMA Hour. “I believe that he’s simpler to go down than Fury. I imply, not that he’s not a powerful fighter. He’s a really powerful fighter, however he’s simpler to ship down than Fury, and it’s tougher for him to get again up than Fury.”

Ngannou thought Joshua appeared good in his win towards Otto Wallin in December, however he thinks Wallin didn’t pose a lot of a risk, one thing he can’t relate to.

“He appeared wonderful,” Ngannou stated of Joshua. “Congratulations to him. He was doing his job correctly. His velocity was there. He appeared sharp – very sharp. However then again, I believe there wasn’t a response in entrance of him.

“I believe I’ll have a greater response in entrance of him that can put him not in such comfy positions and conditions. Issues will change. Issues can be completely different. I can’t stand there and simply have a look at him – no. It’s going to be completely different. I’m going to throw some bombs on the market, and he’s going to be conscious of what he’s doing.”

Ngannou stated he at the moment is in Paris, however after a London information conferencenext week, he plans to relocate to Saudi Arabia for his coaching camp. As of now, he plans to work with the identical group he labored with for the Fury battle.

The 37-year-old stated he respects Joshua, however he’s assured he can get the job performed. Ngannou stated he’s simply getting began in boxing and expects to be significantly better this time round than in his debut.

“Nobody nonetheless is aware of what I can do,” Ngannou stated. “That was my first battle in boxing. That was my first battle. As anybody, I’m simply enhancing, and the hole of enchancment for a newbie like me, it’s enormous. I’m only a newbie enhancing.”