Joshua Naik Pitam Ngannou Boasts About His Ability To Take Down Tyson Fury

JAKARTA - Anthony Joshua will face Francis Ngannou on March 8, 2024 in Saudi Arabia. Prior to the fight, the tension between the two was already hot when they were involved in confrontation at the DANZ event on Tuesday, February 20, 2024.

Joshua was furious with Ngannou's boastful statement that he could bring down Tyson Fury.

You see, the former UFC champion said Joshua would not be able to get back up when he was torn down, unlike Fury.

For information, Ngannou had brought down Fury in his professional boxing debut in October 2023. Fury was able to rise again and could fight until the final round.

Even though it could make Fury collapse, Ngannou still could not avoid a controversial defeat in a separate decision.

"Yes, I doubt that (Joshua can rise again after being dropped). Tyson shows that he is very tough. I saw him rise from a knockout that you wouldn't believe."

"So, in my opinion, he (Fury) is probably one of the most challenging people out there and that doesn't mean he doesn't respect AJ. I don't believe AJ will be able to do like Tyson," Ngannou said as reported by The Sun.

Suddenly, Ngannou's arrogance was immediately responded with a high tone by Anthony Joshua. With his sharp gaze, the former heavyweight boxing champion stressed that bringing down Fury was not something to be proud of.

"Who hasn't brought down Tyson yet? So many people have brought down Tyson," said Joshua loudly.

Joshua's words are true. It was noted that Fury had fallen seven times in his career, but he could bounce back to remain unbeaten at the end of the duel.

Meanwhile, Joshua vs Ngannou's fight was actually not a duel that boxing lovers expected.

Initially, Joshua was due to face Deontay Wilder, in March 2024, but the deal was canceled after the United States boxer's surprise defeat to Joseph Parker.

Ngannou has three years of money. He was refused to have a rematch against Fury. Then, Fury instead switched to the unification fight of the undisputed heavyweight against Oleksandr Usyk which was scheduled for May 18, 2024.

As a result, Turkey Alalshikh, as well as the Chairman of the Entertainment Authority of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, acted quickly to bring the two heavyweight boxers together in the crossover fight in Riyadh.

Seeing the Turkish plan, Joshua initially did not agree. However, his pride was disturbed if he refused the challenge so that he accepted the offer to fight against Ngannou.

"They talked about this fight before. I said no. It's just a gimmick fight. It's not something I thought was right, opposite when I was still chasing heavyweight glory."

"Then, I think when they see what happened in their last fight, the situation with Wilder, this opportunity arises by itself. I have never rejected a challenge and I look forward to it," said Joshua.