Francis Ngannou: Anthony Joshua Won’t Handle Knockout Power Like Tyson Fury Did

• Francis Ngannou will look to beat Anthony Joshua on March 8 in a heavyweight bout in Saudi Arabia
• The former UFC champion has only one professional boxing bout, a controversial loss to Tyson Fury
• Joshua feels sure the Predator will be the biggest challenge of his life when they meet on March 8

There’s no denying that Francis Ngannou is confident ahead of his fight with Anthony Joshua.

The former UFC Heavyweight champion will take on the former boxing champion in a heavyweight bout in Saudi Arabia.

Having fought only one boxing bout before, many would consider Ngannou the underdog, but the Predator believes his knockout power could pose a problem for Joshua in their blockbuster clash.

Ngannou is confident AJ will not get back up if he is hit with the same hook he used to drop Tyson Fury. The Cameroonian dropped The Gypsy King in the third round with a vicious left.

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Fury got back up, but Ngannou doubts Joshua can do the same, EuroSport reported.

"Tyson showed that he's very resilient. I saw him come back from knockdowns like you wouldn't believe. I don't believe that AJ would take what Tyson did," he said.

AJ not phased by Ngannou’s comment

Responding to the statement, the former heavyweight champion didn’t think too much of it, saying that many people had knocked Fury down before.

Despite being dismissive of the remark, AJ admitted he wouldn’t be taking the former UFC fighter lightly and believes it will be among his biggest challenges, BoxingScene reported.

He admitted that he first saw it - a bout with Ngannou - as a gimmick fight, but after watching The Predator’s performance against Fury, he was looking forward to it.

The two heavyweights will meet on March 8 in Saudi Arabia.

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Ngannou wants heavyweight title shot

Sports Brief also reported how Francis Ngannou was angling for a shot at a boxing heavyweight title.

The former UFC champion made the call after Tyson Fury pulled out of his bout with Oleksandr Usyk.

Fury and Usyk were due to fight to unify the heavyweight straps before The Gypsy King suffered a cut.