Francis Ngannou told reporters he didn’t even feel the knockout punch Anthony Joshua leveled to end their heavyweight boxing match in the second round on Friday in Saudi Arabia.
“In fact, I didn’t feel the punch,” Ngannou said, per Josh Peter of USA Today. “I think that’s what the knockout is about. I don’t feel any pain. That’s how I know I was knocked out.”
As combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani noted, this match marked the first time Ngannou has been knocked down and knocked out. Joshua dropped Ngannou in Round 1 before finishing the match in Round 2.
Ngannou was out briefly before he made it to his stool. Officials then administered oxygen to the former UFC heavyweight champion, per ESPN’s Mike Coppinger.
Ngannou reached out to his followers post-match:
Joshua also showed love to his opponent:
This marked Ngannou’s second professional boxing match after he made his debut with a competitive split decision defeat to WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury last October.
Joshua, a former heavyweight champion, improved to 28-3 lifetime with 25 knockouts.
