Francis Ngannou’s 2nd getaway in an expert boxing ring didn’t rather go as prepared.
The previous UFC heavyweight champ was knocked out cold by Anthony Joshua in the 2nd round of a flashy affair in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia late last Friday. The outcome, or more properly the way of the outcome, has actually caused concerns regarding whether Ngannou ought to continue his venture into boxing, or go back to combined martial arts after signing a huge cash handle the Professional Fighters League (PFL) in 2015.
And according to British heavyweight Dillian Whyte, who himself has actually flirted with the concept of combating Ngannou in a boxing ring, the MMA star’s technical defects that were shown in his razor-thin loss to Tyson Fury in 2015 were writ big in his vicious KO loss to the callous Joshua.
“Francis is not experienced enough to beat the leading guys,” Whyte informed Sky Sports. “He got a bit contented due to the fact that he succeeded versus Fury however Fury didn’t take him seriously.
“Fury simply believed he was going to outbox him and he offered Fury some issues however that was his undoing,” included Whyte. “I believe that battle offered him incorrect self-confidence to the point where, when he was getting hammered with huge punches, he remained in the pocket and he wasn’t attempting to move his head or hold or anything.
“He decreased, stood in the exact same location. Didn’t move his head, decreased, stood in the exact same location and generally waited on the 3rd right-hand man. I understood it was going to occur and I selected AJ to win anyhow.”
Ngannou’s choice to change to southpaw from the orthodox position towards completion of the preliminary was likewise highlighted by Whyte as a tactical mistake by the Cameroonian, considered that this developed a passage for Joshua to provide the very first of 3 knockdowns that eventually caused the 2nd round KO.
“AJ is a puncher and you do not simply stand in front of somebody like AJ with your hands essentially down and after that changing positions mid-fight versus a right-handed puncher,” Whyte discussed. “Why did he go southpaw? It didn’t make any sense.
“I felt in one’s bones that AJ’s experience and his power would be excessive. I believed Francis would be a bit much better, to be sincere, however Francis … he’s doing boxing, however it’s not acknowledged boxing training so he hasn’t covered the essentials. Somebody like AJ, a skilled gold medallist, all these world title battles, he covers the essentials every day which is where Francis came unstuck.”
When it comes to Whyte, he goes back to the ring on Sunday in Castlebar in Ireland versus experienced heavyweight Christian Hammer, and he hopes that his St. Patrick’s Day bout will be the next chapter in a return towards title contention.
“I have actually been indicating to go back to Ireland for a while,