Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou performed admirably in his first professional boxing match last October, losing in a very controversial decision against Tyson Fury that many thought he won. Unfortunately for Ngannou, his second boxing match on Friday night against former unified WBO, WBA, and IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua went nowhere near to plan.
Many MMA fans were skeptical of how Ngannou would perform in boxing against some of the best heavyweights in the world given his limited amount of experience in the sport.
He very much showed the world that he belonged in the ring against Fury last year. But the same could not be said for his matchup against Joshua.
Joshua made quick work of Ngannou in the highly anticipated match, first knocking him down and later finishing the job with a knockout in the second round.
JOSHUA PUTS NGANNOU OUT COLD #JoshuaNgannou pic.twitter.com/aHMkn1FEqE
— Steven Rae (@stevenrae_) March 9, 2024
Naturally, fans had plenty to say about the knockout, with some praising Joshua and others saying that Ngannou should stick to MMA.
Before this we haven’t seen Francis Ngannou even look remotely hurt in a fight. Now we’ve seen Anthony Joshua knock him down twice and slump him out completely cold. AJ is the hardest hitter in boxing!🤯 #JoshuaNgannou #KnockoutChaos pic.twitter.com/4gduYG5K73
— UFCFightTalk🍻 (@UFCFightTalk) March 9, 2024
He obviously can’t go out like that but the dude is 37 and clearly was 10 steps behind in that fight
What is he going to do, go back to mma after a knockout like that? I have to question if Francis Ngannou is done DONE
— AMG (@WarriorBetMMA) March 9, 2024
@anthonyjoshua put boxing back in the map!!!!! @francis_ngannou stays strong my brother but I think you should go back to MMA because this is a different level now
— Supaced1 (@ohoussi) March 9, 2024
Wow, what a KO by #AnthonyJoshua. Proper demolition job. Was really hoping for more from #FrancisNgannou
— Haqqani H (@HHHaqqani) March 9, 2024
https://twitter.com/MufcWonItAll2/status/1766266603233005973
It was a resounding victory for boxing in the Boxing-MMA debate that has existed as long as MMA has been around.
For Joshua, this win likely sets up a long-awaited match against Tyson Fury. And for Ngannou, it certainly complicates things regarding his future in both boxing and MMA.
Ngannous is still under contract with the Professional Fighters League (PFL), one of the biggest MMA promotions in the world.
He was scheduled to face Renan Ferreira for the PFL heavyweight championship without an official date set. Ngannou said before this boxing match with Joshua that the date for the Ferreira fight would be determined by his success against Joshua.
Francis Ngannou tells @MikeBohn his timeline to fight “incredible” Renan Ferreira will be determined on Friday.
"It was a crazy performance (vs. Ryan Bader). He was incredible." pic.twitter.com/zjhRHgaKhj
— MMA Junkie (@MMAJunkie) March 8, 2024
Chances are that the fight between Ferreira and Ngannou will now be pushed back, if not canceled altogether due to this recent result for Ngannou.
Ngannou will now need to decide whether he wants to continue to pursue boxing or go back to fight Ferreira in the PFL.
If this knockout loss against Joshua is any indication of things to come in Ngannou’s boxing career, maybe he should just stick with the sport that he experienced so much success in with the PFL.
