Anthony Joshua made Francis Ngannou look like a fish out of water on Friday. Joshua knocked down Ngannou twice in their main event boxing match before laying him out with a thunderous knockout in Round 2.
Ngannou had not been stopped in 22 professional fights -- 20 in mixed martial arts and one apiece in boxing and kickboxing -- heading into Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Friday. He looked like a marvel taking WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury to a split decision in October. In that fight, Ngannou stunned the world by scoring a knockdown, which helped fuel the interest in seeing him against more top heavyweight stars in boxing.
Against Joshua, however, Ngannou was completely out of his depth.
"It is what it is," Joshua said during his post-fight interview. "He's a great champion and this doesn't take away anything from his capabilities. He can come again. I told him he shouldn't leave boxing. He can do well. He's two fights in and he's fought the best. He can go a long way if he stays dedicated, but it's up to him."
Take a look below at how stars from boxing and MMA, including Jake Paul, Ryan Garcia and champions from each sport, reacted to Joshua's terrifying KO of Ngannou.
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Francis Ngannou is one of the greatest fighters of all time. Respect due.
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) March 9, 2024
Anthony Joshua is back.
Activity & focus drives dominance.
Let this be A BIG WARNING to MMA fighters!! Stop coming to boxing it will only get worst. ITS more even if we just go to your sport! OVER! ONE PUNCH.
— RYAN GARCIA (@RyanGarcia) March 9, 2024
Sending healing prayers to FRANCIS! Your bravery and guts should be commendable.
CONGRATULATIONS Anthony Joshua. https://t.co/D5TMyUGqcQ
At least Francis made 20 mil😞
— Rampage Jackson (@Rampage4real) March 9, 2024
Damn AJ!!!!!
— Claressa Gwoat Shields (@Claressashields) March 9, 2024
Holy shit that was nasty
— Demetrious Johnson (@MightyMouse) March 9, 2024
NOW THAT WAS FOR BOXING ‼️
— ShowtimeShawn Porter (@ShowtimeShawnP) March 9, 2024
Shit
— Aljamain Sterling (@funkmasterMMA) March 9, 2024
Boooom 🤯🤯🤯 what a shot
— George "Ferocious" Kambosos Jr (@georgekambosos) March 9, 2024
https://t.co/3HCYuh0Fwk pic.twitter.com/p12nijiQG9
— “Wonderboy” Thompson (@WonderboyMMA) March 9, 2024
Y’all check up on those MMA fans who were talking to us crazy after the Fury/Ngannou fight. Glad Ngannou is ok though. @DAZNBoxing #JoshuaNgannou pic.twitter.com/TdOYu8ZWP2
— Jamel Herring (@JamelHerring) March 9, 2024
🙏🏽 pray he’s healthy.
— CrisCyborg.Com (@criscyborg) March 9, 2024
A fighter really should give their brain a year to recover after a night with this type of trauma. https://t.co/kkHDrnjKGV
Really hope Francis is okay. No surprise by Joshua…
— Nico Ali Walsh (@nicoaliwalsh) March 9, 2024