Believes Francis Ngannou Can ‘Expose’ Anthony Joshua’s Chin

Heavyweight title hopeful Joe Joyce is intrigued by tonight’s crossover showdown between Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou, Tom Eaton reports for Boxing Social, believing an upset could be on the cards.

Joyce was poised for a shot at the world title himself until two consecutive knockout defeats to Zhilei Zhang in 2023, freezing him out of the title picture altogether. He is not ranked in the top ten with any of the sanctioning bodies.

Now, the Joshua-Ngannou victor is expected to challenge for the belts, and speaking to OLBG, Joyce admitted that his money is on the underdog.

“I’m doubtful they’ll meet in the centre of the ring, I imagine Joshua will play it safe. Joshua can hit hard, but he could get caught in the flames if he fights fire with fire. He needs to be careful and get his shots off, too. Francis can test AJ’s chin.

“AJ has shown he hasn’t got the best chin. He’s shown he’s a bit of a glass cannon. He has explosive power but is also quite fragile. But how can I talk? I’ve just been knocked out, so I can’t speak.

“But look at what Ngannou did against Fury; he knocked him down and arguably won the fight, and he could have done the same to Joshua. He needs to because Ngannou isn’t going to get the decision.

“If Francis lands a big bomb on Joshua’s chin, Joshua’s going down. Equally, Joshua has power, and if he can put them punches together and use his experience, he will probably keep it a lot longer. I can see why some are making him the favorite.

“If the odds are good for a Francis knockout, I’m putting my money on that. It’s a 50-50 fight. I’ll say Joshua on points or Ngannou for the upset by KO.”