Francis Ngannou Apologises After Being Knocked Out by Anthony Joshua in Their Fight in Saudi Arabia

Francis Ngannou Apologises After Being Knocked Out by Anthony Joshua in Their Fight in Saudi Arabia

Raphael Abiola
March 9, 2024 at 2:29 AM
  • Francis Ngannou has reacted after losing his heavyweight bout against Anthony Joshua in Saudi
  • The Cameroonian MMA fighter was knocked out in the second round by British-Nigerian boxer
  • The 37-year-old boxer apologised to fans on his official page on X after being defeated by Joshua

Cameroonian boxer Francis Ngannou has apologised to his fans after being knocked out by Anthony Joshua in their fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The former UFC champion faced Joshua in his second professional boxing match after debuting in the sport against WBC heavyweight titleholder Tyson Fury last October.

Ngannou's performance against Fury led to many predictions of him getting a good run against Joshua, but the reverse is the case.

Francis Ngannou punches Anthony Joshua during their Heavyweight fight at the Knockout Chaos boxing card. Photo: Richard Pelham.
Francis Ngannou punches Anthony Joshua during their Heavyweight fight at the Knockout Chaos boxing card. Photo: Richard Pelham.
Source: Getty Images

According to a report by BBC, the Cameroonian was knocked out by the British-Nigerian boxer in the second round and needed medical attention to get back to his feet.

After the bout, Ngannou took to his official handle on X (formerly known as Twitter) to apologise to his fans for his awful performance in his fight against Joshua.

"Sorry guys, I let you all down 😔 Today was a bad day in the office, but tomorrow will be another day. Thank you all for the love ❤️," he said.

The former MMA superstar's apology on X stirred different reactions from fans, with Jake Paul leading the way.

@jakepaul said.

"Legend in my books brother. What you have accomplished is a story to be told."

@GucciStarboi said:

"Hope you took Anthony’s advice, he said “don’t leave boxing”"

@TruthfulUfcFan said:

"You didn’t let anyone down, chin up👊🏾. Dared to be great 🖤. You came to their backyard, they’d NEVER do the same. Remember that‼️"

@myrksitymma said:

"We love you Champ. You didn’t let us down. You are a true inspiration in every sense of the word👏🏽🙏🏽"

@rgfray1 said:

"You fought against one of the best boxers in the world, all respect to you"

Joshua hails Ngannou ahead of their bout

Sports Brief earlier reported that Joshua hailed Ngannou as a worthy opponent ahead of their bout in the Middle East.

The British boxer admitted that he did research about the MMA fighter and referenced his fight against Fury.

Authors
Raphael Abiola photo
Raphael Abiola
Raphael Abiola is a Nigerian Sports Journalist with over five years of experience. He obtained a B.Tech degree in Computer Science from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, in 2015.