Anthony Joshua lauded Francis Ngannou an ‘inspiration’ and won’t ‘underestimate’ him when the two come face-to-face in an eagerly-anticipated bout in Saudi Arabia
Anthony Joshua has been inspired by Francis Ngannou’s journey – even though he plans to end it in March.
The British heavyweight star takes on the MMA fighter in a 10-round clash in Saudi Arabia. Joshua, 34, is hoping an impressive knockout can fire up interest in a Tyson Fury showdown after the Gypsy King was almost upset by Ngannou last October.
Cameroon-born Ngannou made it to the top of UFC after travelling as a refugee from Africa to Europe which included harrowing journeys by sea and truck. It’s something which has inspired Joshua. “The journey he has taken,” said ‘AJ’. “He’s a go getter. He is someone who sets a goal and goes and gets it.
He continued: “To travel across that desert. He said like people that travel across there, they fall off the car, back of the truck and they’re left to die. Think of how many people that you know that have come before you that have tried that same route and you’re going through it. It takes a lot.
“It takes a lot to travel the Mediterranean, the sea, he crossed, it’s a lot man. He said he couldn’t swim either. It is inspiration. It is someone who searched for a better life and he’s doing it in one of the toughest sports, combat sport. He’s a determined person and I find it inspirational.”
Ngannou almost stunned the world when he floored Fury on his boxing debut in October before the Gypsy King recovered to edge out a win on points and save embarrassment. It was clear Fury gave the MMA fighter no respect and expected it to be a walkover.
Joshua added: “Would I have underestimated him? No, the problem with me is I train the same for every fight; obviously we train differently, but I do always work hard, so I wouldn’t have underestimated him.
“But now I know the guy can fight, I know. There’s no element of surprise, like, ‘He’s gonna be s***, he’s not gonna be able to move, he’s gonna have s*** footwork, his feet are gonna be like he’s stuck in the sand.’ No, he can move, he can come forward, so it’ll be good to see how I deal with that – and how he deals with me as well.”
