Boxing: Ngannou the underdog in second fight against Anthony Joshua

Fight details

In a battle between two of the top heavyweight fighters in the world, Anthony Joshua will fight Francis Ngannou on March 8 in Riyadh. Joshua is the betting favourite heading into this fight by a decent margin on sports betting sites. Joshua has -450 odds to win the fight on Betway. Ngannou is the early underdog. Ngannou has +333 odds to upset Joshua. Joshua is recognized as one of the top heavyweights in boxing. He has a 27-3 professional boxing record and is ESPN’s number three ranked heavyweight. Ngannou is 0-1 in professional boxing career, but had a close fight against Tyson Fury for his boxing debut, a split decision loss.

𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐎𝐒 🧨

Assiste ao combate Joshua vs. Ngannou, dia 8 de março, em direto em https://t.co/PbpxvDepg7 📲 pic.twitter.com/HHHVP6r4a0
— DAZN Portugal (@DAZNPortugal) February 19, 2024

Francis “The Predator” Ngannou

Francis Ngannou is coming off an impressive performance against Tyson Fury, the number one ranked heavyweight in boxing. Ngannou won the fight according to one judge’s scorecard, a 95-94 score. Ngannou showed that he can box with one of the best heavyweights in boxing after years of fighting in MMA. There are some who believe Ngannou beat Fury thanks to a solid performance and an early knockdown. This was one of the most stunning fights of 2023 because Fury was a -1200 betting favourite at one point before the fight.

Ngannou is one of the hardest hitting heavyweights, regardless of sport. His power has been a huge problem for his opponents. He has 12 KO/TKO victories in MMA and knocked down Tyson Fury in his first professional fight in boxing. His power should be his biggest advantage in this fight because of his lack of boxing experience. If he can land clean shots on Joshua, Ngannou should have a good shot at winning this fight by KO/TKO. Joshua is recognized as one of the best boxers in the world, but he is not Fury. Andy Ruiz defeated Joshua by KO/TKO, so Joshua has been stopped before. And based on what Ngannou did against Fury, we probably should not be shocked if he finds a way to win by decision.

Anthony Joshua

Many thought Joshua’s next fight would be against Deontay Wilder. But Wilder lost his last bout, so now Joshua will fight boxing’s newest rising star. Joshua has been one of the best heavyweights in the sport for a few years now. His two losses to Oleksandr Usyk, boxing’s number two ranked heavyweight according to ESPN, a couple of years ago make up two of his three losses. His other loss was to Andy Ruiz by KO/TKO, a huge upset.

Whether or not Joshua will be able to evade Ngannou’s punches and withstand his power will be a huge factor in this fight. Ngannou’s power should be more than enough to stop Joshua in this fight. But this is boxing. Joshua is the much more experienced boxer and has fought some of the toughest competition the sport has to offer. If there are heavyweights in boxing who can outbox Ngannou and avoid his power punches, Joshua should be one of them. Ngannou’s performance against Fury was impressive, but there is no way to know if Fury had an off night or if Ngannou is that good. Joshua is one of the best in the business, so this should be a tough fight for Ngannou now that there is tape on him in the boxing ring.