He has been warned his career is on the line against Francis Ngannou
Anthony Joshua will take on former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on March 8 in a fight he cannot afford to lose.
George Groves has told Anthony Joshua his career will be over if he loses to Francis Ngannou, Martin Dolin reports for The Mirror UK.
Joshua will take on former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on March 8 in what will be just the Cameroonian’s second professional boxing fight. Ngannou dropped Tyson Fury in the third round of their clash last October before losing a narrow split decision.
Joshua, meanwhile, stopped Otto Wallin two days before Christmas to record his third victory of 2023. He knows victory will set him up for a potential shot at the winner of Fury’s undisputed clash with Oleksandr Usyk, which will take place on February 17. But Groves believes defeat will suddenly end Joshua’s distinguished career.
Ngannou hasn’t been boxing long. How can he defeat an Olympic champion who went on to win multiple world titles? AJ’s not past his best, he’s not on the way out,” he told Grosvenor Sport. He looked flat at the start of last year, but he was a real force against Wallin. So I hope he puts it on Ngannou and doesn’t put safety first. I hope he comes out hungry to make a statement; AJ can knock Ngannou out. I think he needs to win and win well.
“And if he doesn’t, we need to stop caring about the heavyweight division, and it would be a farce. It would not happen in any other sport. You wouldn’t get Conor McGregor anywhere near anyone in the top ten in boxing. Joshua should easily outbox him. Joshua has got it all to lose. A loss for Joshua would be curtains. His last defeat was against Oleksandr Usyk, who I think is a phenomenal fighter, whereas this time around if he loses to Ngannou, a guy in his second fight, that will be a disaster.
“There will be a question mark over his career and legacy, especially because he’s not a faded fighter, he’s not shot, and it’s not like Ngannou will be catching Joshua as the tail end of his career. AJ performed an outstanding against Wallin, but if Ngannou beats him, that’s a nightmare. It’s a big pressure fight. It would be a bigger shock than Buster Douglas beating Tyson. Douglas wasn’t a bad fighter, and Tyson was a ticking time bomb. That was a major shock, but Ngannou beating AJ would surely top it.”
Mike Tyson has already made definitive Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua prediction
A win for Fury against Oleksandr Usyk means he could fight Joshua for the undisputed belts if ‘AJ’ gets past Francis Ngannou. Tyson has already predicted who would win, Harry Davies reports for The Mirror UK.
If Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua finally meet in the ring this year, Mike Tyson has backed ‘The Gypsy King’ to get the last laugh.
The domestic rivals are on a collision course to settle their feud if they both win their upcoming fights in Saudi Arabia. Fury will look to become the first undisputed heavyweight world champion since 1999 when he meets Oleksandr Usyk on February 17th, while Joshua aims to extend his unbeaten streak to four fights against former UFC champion Francis Ngannou on March 8.
Tyson admitted that ‘AJ’ might be the biggest puncher in the heavyweight division but explained why his power could be useless against Fury. “I love Joshua, but I think Tyson’s too elusive. He’s not going to hit him. We’re keeping it honest, right? I like Joshua a lot, and Joshua maybe punches harder than [Deontay] Wilder, but he doesn’t punch faster than Wilder.
“If he doesn’t punch faster than Wilder, he’s not going to f**king touch this guy. That’s just what I see. He punches hard, but he doesn’t punch fast. If Tyson Fury can get away from Wilder’s fast punches, then Joshua might be in trouble,” Tyson told Haute Living about the fight.
Tyson’s prediction came at a time when Fury and Joshua signed contracts for an undisputed fight, but an arbitration case meant Fury had to fight Wilder for the third time, and Joshua went on to lose his world titles to Usyk. Joshua’s promoter Hearn is praying that Fury can get past Usyk next month to be one step closer to the undisputed domestic clash.
Tyson’s prediction came at a time when Fury and Joshua signed contracts for an undisputed fight, but an arbitration case meant Fury had to fight Wilder for the third time, and Joshua went on to lose his world titles to Usyk. Joshua’s promoter Hearn is praying that Fury can get past Usyk next month to be one step closer to the undisputed domestic clash.
“The winner of this fight gets the winner of Fury vs Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight world championship. For Ngannou, he could become an undisputed champion in just his third fight,” Hearn told TNT Sports. “For us and AJ, we have dreamed about that for so many years. I told him before the face-off, ‘Two wins and you are undisputed champion’.
“I believe he is going to do it, I do. I believe he is going to beat Tyson Fury. I love Oleksandr Usyk, but I will say, Tyson Fury, you have to win this fight. Once he beats Ngannou, we have to make this fight happen. It’s so exciting for boxing. We have a path and plan for brilliant fights.”
