If there was any lingering doubts about Anthony Joshua and his abilities, the British superstar erased them in short order on Friday. Joshua delivered a thunderous knockout of former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It took Joshua less than two rounds to put away Ngannou and he did so in style with a pair of knockdowns before the emphatic final blow.
Joshua, who previously held three of the four recognized titles in the division, sent a message that he's still an elite opponent to Tyson Fury, who was seated ringside for the bout. Fury struggled against Ngannou last October, suffering a knockdown before settling for a split decision win. Joshua now waits to see how Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk plays out before setting his next course of action. Joshua suffered a pair of decision defeats to Usyk in 2021 and 2022 to drop his titles.
Ngannou was not interviewed post fight, which has become a more common practice after fighters suffer such a devastating knockout, but he did post a statement on social media shortly after the fight.
"Sorry guys I let you all down," Ngannou said. "Today was a bad day in the office but tomorrow will be another day. Thank you all for the love."
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Elsewhere on the card, Joseph Parker continued his ascent back to heavyweight title contention as he scored a majority decision over Zhilei Zhang in the co-main event. The win secured Parker the WBO interim title and could get hi a shot at Fury or Usyk, though he is a training partner with the "Gypsy King." Parker earned the nod despite suffering a pair of knockdowns in the fight as Zhang was simply not active enough to win rounds. Plus, Rey Vargas managed to hold on to his WBC featherweight title, but by the slimmest of margins against Nick Ball. The two fight to a split draw, meaning the champion could not lose his title.
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Fight card, results
- Anthony Joshua def. Francis Ngannou via second-round knockout
- Joseph Parker def. Zhilei Zhang (c) via majority decision (113-113, 114-112, 115-111)
- Rey Vargas (c) vs. Nick Ball ends in a split draw (114-112, 110-115, 113-113) -- Vargas retains
- Israil Madrimov (c) def. Magomed Kubranov via fifth-round TKO -- vacant WBA super welterweight title
- Mark Chamberlain def. Gavin Gwynne via fourth-round TKO
