Anthony Joshua warns critics not to overlook him vs Francis Ngannou, citing Otto Wallin, Robert Helenius, Dillian Whyte as victims

Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou are scheduled to lock horns in Riyadh on March 8 with the winner next in line to face the winner of the Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk boxing match billed as Ring of Fire. The Fury vs. Usyk bout would determine the first undisputed heavyweight boxing champion in the four-belt era.

Joshua last fought Otto Walin in Riyadh in the main event of ‘Day of Reckoning’ whereas Francis Ngannou headlined ‘Battle of the Baddest‘ with Tyson Fury but lost via split decision in the fight he knocked down Fury in the third round.

Anthony Joshua sends bone-chilling warning to critics

Former unified heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua sent a bone-chilling message to critics as he is in preparation to face former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. The bout is at a critical juncture in the career of Joshua who had rebounded from consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk with a couple of victories via finish.

“As much as there is hype around Ngannou, he still has to come through me. I am a power puncher myself.”, said Joshua who warned critics to not forget about his punching power when they think of Ngannou.

“I break peoples’ eye sockets. I broke Otto Wallin’s nose and eye socket”, Joshua further added about his recent fight with Otto Walin where Walin’s corners stopped the fight after injuries sustained from Joshua’s punches.

“Robert Helenius got sparked out, and I f***ing ruined Dillian Whyte’s career with an uppercut. The list goes on.”, Joshua went on to talk about his previous fights like the ones with Robert Helenius and Dillian Whyte which he won by brutal knockout. Joshua believes that his punching power against the ferocious punching power of Ngannou is going to make the fight between them very exciting.

Even though Joshua has knockout power, he has been knocked out as well. His first defeat in professional boxing was against Andy Ruiz which was by knockout. However, he came back to win the rematch via a dominant decision to reclaim the belts he lost. On the other hand, Ngannou is known for his durable chin as well as his brutal KO power.

AJ vs Ngannou bout predictions

Anthony Joshua is a more than a minus 500 favorite against Francis Ngannou who is close to a plus 500 underdog in their fight. The odds of Ngannou vs Fury were overwhelmingly in favor of Fury but Ngannou’s performance against Fury is one of the reasons why Ngannou is not that big of an underdog against Joshua.

Anthony Joshua and his manager Eddie Hearn predict an easy victory for them with Joshua even stating that he could easily mentally break Ngannou in the ring. On the other hand, Ngannou intends to test the chin of Joshua which he feels is not as durable as that of Fury who has gotten up from power punches by Ngannou and Deontay Wilder.

Many in the UFC believe that Ngannou can spring an upset with a single shot. It needs to be noted that nobody gave him a chance against Fury but against Joshua, many feel that Ngannou can comfortably knock him out.

Nonetheless, the boxers are expected to bag millions of dollars for the fight with Ngannou guaranteed $20 million to Joshua’s $50 million. Ngannou has been on the B side of negotiations but a victory over Joshua could make him an A side or an equal partner in his next fight.

Do you think Anthony Joshua will defeat Francis Ngannou? Leave your prediction below!