Joshua vs Ngannou LIVE: Boxing result, highlights and fight reaction after crushing knockout last night

Anthony Joshua stood at the feet of Francis Ngannou in round two of their fight in Riyadh in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Joshua just looked down, there was no merry dance of celebration or relief; it was strictly business.

Joshua had just sent Ngannou down for the third time and this time the former UFC champion was not moving. He was out cold and required medical attention in the ring.

It was the only possible result for Anthony Joshua in a fight that he had to win. It is possible that a scrappy, ugly points victory would have not helped his image. The knockout was essential.

Joshua was fighting for his future, defending his ring history and had to beat Ngannou in style. He did, and it was brutal, cold and calculating.

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Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are set to finally meet to decide the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

A “freak” cut to Fury’s face delayed the fight earlier this year, but the highly anticipated fight is now set with new ramifications for either fighter, including a heavy fine, should there be another withdrawal.

Fury is rebounding from a poor performance against Francis Ngannou, where he was dropped by the former UFC heavyweight champion and narrowly escaped defeat on the scorecards.

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Anthony Joshua claimed he should be the “WBC heavyweight champion of the world” after knocking out Francis Ngannou.

Joshua produced a timely reminder of his devastating punching power as he dropped the UFC champion twice in the second round before a crushing third knockdown in Saudi Arabia.

It positioned Joshua to take on the winner of Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, who meet in an undisputed heavyweight title fight in May.

Last October, Ngannou made his boxing debut against WBC heavyweight champion Fury, knocking down the Briton before losing a hotly-disputed decision in Riyadh.

In a quirk of traditional boxing rules, Fury’s WBC title was not on the line. However, Joshua joked Ngannou held the title on merit and that he was now the WBC’s champion.

“Francis Ngannou beat the WBC heavyweight champion of the world, I should be WBC champion of the world right now,” Joshua smiled, in an apparent dig at Fury.

Anthony Joshua knocked out Francis Ngannou on Friday night and then accused the watching Tyson Fury of being “disrespectful”.

The heavyweight world champion looked on ringside in Riyadh as Joshua dispatched the former UFC champion Ngannou in two dominant rounds with a crushing performance.

Joshua he was also irked by comments in which Fury labelled both he and Ngannou “sausages” – especially given how close Fury was pushed by the Cameroonian boxing novice back in October.

“F**k Tyson Fury,” Joshua told iFL TV after the fight.

“I don’t like trashtalking people but I heard him say something like, ‘Oh, I’m here to do commentary about these two sausages’, or something like that. Bro, that guy that I fought, that he fought, is an ex-UFC heavyweight champion, a phenomenal story, someone who’s changed his life around. He [Fury] is just too disrespectful. So forget anything about him right now.”

Anthony Joshua knocked Francis Ngannou out cold on Friday to position himself for a shot at the undisputed heavyweight title and the winner of Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.

Joshua dropped Ngannou in round one with a clean right hand – when the ex-UFC champion went southpaw – before doing the same in round two. After Ngannou beat the referee’s count following the second knockdown, Joshua knocked the Cameroonian out cold with his very next punch, another right cross.

Full fight report:

Anthony Joshua applauded Francis Ngannou during the post-fight press conference on Friday night (March 9) in a display of mutual respect.

The British boxer applauded the former UFC champion shortly after defeating him in a stunning second-round KO.

Joshua, 34, floored the former UFC champion in the first round before securing the 25th knockout of his career minutes later.

“How are you champ?” AJ asked while pulling out a seat beside him for his opponent.

Ngannou told reporters: “It wasn’t my day, he was just way better than me today.”

“He was quite special because he stopped me, he did what Tyson Fury couldn’t do,” the 37-year-old said.

Joshua interjected: “You beat Tyson, you beat him.”

Fury added: “Yes, it goes both ways, he can do what he wants, whoever he fights, he can’t wait a year, inactivity is no good.

“After I beat Usyk, the IBF will be vacant, so maybe he can fight Hrgovic. I’m healing well, I’m not even in camp yet, I’ll go to camp at the end of March and I’ll spar then.”

Tyson Fury has provided an update on a showdown with Anthony Joshua after his rival’s devastating knockout of Francis Ngannou.

The heavyweight world champion watched ringside in Riyadh as ‘AJ’ dispatched the former UFC champion in two dominant rounds with a crushing performance.

Fury has detailed the complicated road towards an eventual meeting with Joshua though, which could occur in 2025, should the former champion remain unbeaten alongside Fury defeating Usyk twice, given there is a rematch clause in their deal to fight on 18 May.

“There’s quite a long way to go, there’s always been a lot of s*** getting in the way of it,” Fury said. “I’ve got bigger fish to fry, 18 May, then we have a rematch in October. After that, if he’s still available and I’m available, let’s get it on.”

Francis Ngannou congratulated his conqueror Anthony Joshua after being blown away in a devastating second-round knockout by the Briton, and admitted afterwards that he never even felt the final punch.

“That was a clean one,” Ngannou said of the final blow. “In fact, I didn’t feel the punch. That’s what the knockout is about. I don’t feel any pain. That’s how I know I was knocked out ... It was quite special because it stopped me. It did what Tyson Fury couldn’t do. It wasn’t my day, and he’s just way better than me today. It sucks, but it’s the game, we all know that. It’s the game.”

Anthony Joshua has expressed his desire to fight Tyson Fury next, having knocked out Francis Ngannou in devastating fashion on Friday.

Ex-UFC champion Ngannou made his boxing debut in October, dropping Fury in a shocking moment before losing a controversial decision. The Cameroonian did not come close to replicating that performance against Joshua, however, suffering a brutal second-round loss.

Briton Joshua, 34, dropped Ngannou, 37, in round one and did the same twice in round two. The final knockdown proved decisive, with Ngannou out cold on the canvas in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Joshua then seemed to make a gun gesture at his preferred next target, Fury, who was sat in the front row at the Kingdom Arena.