Francis Ngannou Destroys Anthony Joshua’s ‘Gimmick’ Remark With a Reality Check

Was the Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou fight last year a gimmick? As far as the boxing world is concerned, it was one of the biggest fights in recent history. ‘The Predator’ nearly defeated the number one heavyweight in the world after all. The consensus before the fight, however, was rather different, and even Anthony Joshua thought so.

Before Ngannou taught ‘The Gypsy King’ an important boxing lesson, Anthony Joshua had called their clash nothing more than a gimmick. However, now that he is about to fight Ngannou on March 8 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, he has changed his mind. Even still, that did not stop Francis Ngannou from giving ‘AJ’ a reality check yesterday during their Face Off interview with DAZN Boxing.

Francis Ngannou highlights he is fighting the top three heavyweights

During the interview with Ngannou and Joshua, Ade Oladipo brought up AJ’s comment on the Fury vs. Ngannou fight. He asked Joshua whether his thoughts about the fight had changed since he was now fighting Ngannou. In response, Joshua stated, “No, it’s the biggest challenge of my life.” 

However, ‘AJ’ didn’t realize a knockout response from Ngannou was coming! Reflecting on the statement from AJ, Ngannou reminded Joshua that even though he thought the Fury fight was a gimmick, that doesn’t change the fact that he fought two of the three top heavyweights of the generation. 

“It’s the gimmick fight. I think it’s very funny because…I mean – this a crossover…it’s my second fight, my second pro fight. And then, I’m taking on two of the top three heavyweight boxers in the generation, so [it’s] quite interesting,” said Ngannou. The banter between these two fighters aside, recently, the pay-per-view details for the fight were released to the public.

Where and how to watch Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua?

Yesterday night, it wasn’t just the Face Off interview released. Alongside the interview came all the juicy PPV details of the fight. According to a tweet from Michael Benson, the fight can be live-streamed on DAZN App for the people in the United States. It’s not a surprise since Joshua’s promoter has a long-standing partnership with the broadcasters. 

Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou will be shown live on DAZN PPV and Sky Sports PPV in the UK, with fans able to buy the fight through both broadcasters – price TBC.

— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) February 19, 2024

As for the people in the United Kingdom, the event is available for viewing on Sky Sports. However, the price for the PPV hasn’t been announced yet. What’s more, the event has more than one exciting fight lined up. Besides Ngannou vs. Joshua in the main event, Zhilei Zhang will take on Joseph Parker in the undercard. Some other fights in the event include Justis Huni vs. Kevin Lerena and Nick Ball vs. Rey Vargas.

Also Read: Is Francis Ngannou the Biggest Challenge for Anthony Joshua? 2X World Champion Answers

As the fight night draws ever so closer, things are starting to heat up between Francis Ngannou and Anthony Joshua. Whoever takes home the win will have a direct shot at an undisputed title against the winner of Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury. Who are you betting on? Do you think Ngannou deserves more respect from boxers? 

Watch This Story: Eddie Hearn Names the fighter who can defeat Francis Ngannou within one round

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