Joshua knocks out Ngannou in round two!
Ngannou goes down with about a minute left in the round, a straight right-left hook combonation. And this time he looks in serious trouble. Ngannou somehow makes it to his feet, but Joshua wastes no time: the Briton surges right into the pocket and drops him with a heat-seeking right hand that leaves him out cold on the canvas. The referee Richard Gonzales immediately waves it off and it’s over! Anthony Joshua has defeated Francis Ngannou with a savage knockout.
Ngannou down in round one!
Joshua darts in with a jab to the body. Ngannou looking more comfortable than he did in the early stages against Fury. Joshua lands another nice left jab. Joshua blocks a Ngannou right hook upstairs with his glove. Ngannou switches from orthodox to southpaw with about a minute left in the round. What confidence! And just like that, Joshua detonates a massive right hand on Ngannou’s chin and Ngannou is down in a heap! And Ngannou is hurt! He beats the count at nine and there’s about 40 seconds till the bell. Will he make it? And he does! What a first round!
It’s 3.19am in Riyadh and the fighters are making their entrances. First it’s Ngannou, who looks all business as he makes the long walk at a methodical pace to God’s Plan by Drake. Now it’s Joshua’s turn. The former two-time unified heavyweight champion strolls down a bridge flanked by pyrotechnics and takes a direct route to the ring as Skepta’s I Spy blasts at ear-splitting volumes. All in all an understated ringwalk by AJ standards. Both fighters are inside the ropes and Michael Buffer has taken the microphone to go through the introductions.
