Francis Ngannou had maybe the most effective loss in an expert debut boxing has ever seen. Then he confronted Anthony Joshua.
The previous UFC heavyweight champion was knocked out chilly in simply two rounds by the previous unified heavyweight champion, who proved to be rather more of an issue for Ngannou than WBC champion Tyson Fury had in October.
Ngannou entered that Fury match as a heavy underdog in opposition to the champion — one promoter known as the matchup “a shame” — however he differentiated himself from the various MMA fighters-turned-boxers with a efficiency that would not have regarded misplaced from a seasoned heavyweight contender. He managed to knock down Fury within the third spherical and had the group chanting his identify within the ultimate spherical.
He had no such luck Friday in Riyadh. He was knocked down as soon as within the first spherical and twice within the second, possible ending the Cameroonian’s short-lived boxing profession.
In a slog of a co-main occasion, Zhilei Zhang scored two knockdowns in opposition to Joseph Parker, but it surely wasn’t sufficient as Parker walked away with a majority resolution to assert the WBC interim heavyweight title. Zhang took his foot off the pedal after each knockdowns, which got here in rounds 3 and 6, and Parker stayed busy sufficient for the factors win.
“I really feel like we’re on the up now, Zhang is a tricky man,” Parker mentioned in his post-fight interview. “He knocked me down twice. I am very comfortable, I’ll go dwelling and rejoice. Arduous work, onerous work, onerous work. It is an unbelievable feeling, look the place we’re. What’s subsequent is I am combating Zhang once more, that is what we’re contracted to.”
Here is how the whole card unfolded in Saudi Arabia:
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Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua essential card outcomes, highlights
Heavyweight: Anthony Joshua def. Francis Ngannou by KO in R2:
Heavyweight: Joseph Parker def. Zhilei Zhang by majority resolution (113-113, 114-112, 115-111)
Featherweight championship: Rey Vargas vs. Nick Ball ends in a cut up draw (114-112, 110-116, 113-113
Tremendous welterweight championship: Israil Madrimov def. Magomed Kurbanov by TKO in R5
Light-weight: Mark Chamberlain def. Gavin Gwynne by TKO in R4:
Heavyweight: Justis Huni def. Kevin Lerena by unanimous resolution (96-94, 96-94, 98-92)
Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua preliminary card outcomes, highlights
Tremendous welterweight: Louis Greene def. Jack McGann by TKO at 1:29 of R1:
Heavyweight: Andrii Novytskyi def. Juan Torres by TKO at 2:43 of R1
Tremendous light-weight: Ziyad Almaayouf def. Christian Lopez Flores by resolution (60-54)
Heavyweight: Roman Fury def. Martin Svarc by resolution (39-37)