Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou live results and analysis | Top Vip News

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  • Mike Coppinger

  • Nick Parkinson

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    Nick Parkinson

      •Boxing reports for ESPN.co.uk, as well as several national newspapers.
      •Has been reporting on British boxing for over 15 years.
      •Features on BoxNation’s Boxing Matters show.

March 9, 2024, 06:15

Anthony Joshua scored a spectacular knockout over Francis Ngannou in the second round, a right hand that landed cleanly on the former UFC heavyweight champion’s chin and knocked him unconscious on Friday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

After Ngannou regained consciousness, ring officials administered oxygen to the 37-year-old, who was boxing for the second time.

Joshua dropped Ngannou in the first round with a right hand, and when he beat the count, he looked shaky. The former heavyweight boxing champion produced another knockdown in the second round, a balancing shot that landed on Ngannou’s left ear.

Moments after Ngannou got up from the second knockdown, Joshua put him down for good with a perfectly placed right hand that landed flush. Ngannou’s leg bent awkwardly beneath him as the 272½-pound MMA fighter fell to the canvas in a heap.

Ngannou, 0-2 in boxing, made his ring debut against lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and lost by split decision, even dropping Fury with a left hook in the third round. This time, he wouldn’t have the same success. Although he was putting up a strong first round, Joshua knocked him down and Ngannou apparently couldn’t recover.

Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) defeated Wladimir Klitschko in April 2017 to win the IBF and WBA heavyweight titles. Joshua added the WBO belt by defeating Joseph Parker a year later, but then lost the titles to Andy Ruiz Jr. in June 2019. He won them back in a rematch six months later and made a defense before losing consecutive fights to Oleksandr Usyk. .

Joshua was expected to face Deontay Wilder, but Wilder lost a unanimous decision to Parker in December, opening the door for Ngannou.

Before the main event, Parker overcame two knockdowns to defeat Zhilei Zhang and win the WBO interim heavyweight title. In the other two title fights, Israil Madrimov knocked out Magomed Kurbanov to win the vacant WBA “super” junior middleweight title, while Rey Vargas and Nick Ball achieved a split draw in a fight for the WBA featherweight title. CMB.

Here’s how all the action unfolded in Saudi Arabia:

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