Joshua Beats Ngannou via Second-round Knockout

Anthony Joshua yesterday knocked out Francis Ngannou with a devastating second-round finish to shatter any prospect of a sensational upset and continue his march towards becoming a three-time world champion.

Joshua floored a shell-shocked Ngannou with a vicious right hand in the opening round before knocking down the former UFC heavyweight champion twice in the next, the second of which would leave Ngannou flat out for the count.

It arrived as the most destructive knockout of Joshua’s career to follow up statement stoppages over Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin in reigniting his pursuit of another world title opportunity.

The prospective prize had featured prominently throughout the build-up in Saudi Arabia, with victory now expected to pave the way to a shot at the winner of Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk’s clash for the undisputed heavyweight championship.

Joshua says he wants the winner of Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk after his devastating KO win over Francis Ngannou.

“When I saw the fight with Fury, I thought damn, this guy could fight, I wanted a piece of that,” said Joshua post-fight.

Joshua had cut a laserfocused figure all week amid all the pageantry and promises, maintaining that approach as he delivered a knockout clinic to hand Ngannou a ruthless exposure to the true world of heavyweight boxing.

Ngannou had arrived riding the momentum of a staggering debut performance against Fury back in October, his shock thirdround knockdown in defeat to the WBC champion earning him another lucrative day between the ropes. As 4am approached in Saudi Arabia, Joshua was in no mood for further drama.