Today was a day for boxing, if ever. Recently, many MMA fighters have looked to make a foray into boxing, most of them say they can outbox the best.

If you recall, late last year, Francis “The Predator” Ngannou fought Tyson Fury, the self-proclaimed king of the heavyweight division. Last October 28th, the top heavyweight MMA fighter in the world almost beat one of the top heavyweight boxers. Maybe not the best but, he even scored a knockdown. Today was a different story.

In Saudi Arabia, Anthony “AJ” Joshua swiftly dispatched former UFC superstar & champ Francis Ngannou, demolishing him within two rounds. For Ngannou, this marked his second professional boxing bout after his closely contested matchup against Tyson Fury the previous year. However, he proved no match for Joshua, who unleashed the full brutality of the sweet science upon the MMA fighter.

The early exchanges saw Ngannou exuding confidence, but his plans unraveled when a massive right hand from Joshua sent him crashing to the canvas. Stunned by the shot, Ngannou emerged with renewed determination in the second round, but the end was nigh. Joshua uncorked another thunderous right, and though Ngannou beat the count, Joshua smelled blood.

The result? A hammering overhand right that floored Ngannou for the third time, prompting the referee’s wise intervention to stop the contest. In the aftermath, Joshua paid respect to his vanquished opponent, while his promoter, Eddie Hearn, made clear that Fury was the next target in Joshua’s sights.

Now this could of course change quickly depending on the results from May 18th. When Tyson Fury (The Ring, WBC, and lineal Champ) faces off against Oleksandr Usyk, the current WBA Super, IBF & WBO heavyweight champion. That’s right, this is to unify the belts.

So realistically, while Hearn says Fury, it could very well be Usyk. Usyk currently holds 2 victories over Anthony Joshua. Boxing is certainly heating up in 2024.

What fights do you want to see this fall? Hit me up online.

@vinquezada1 on X, for WeLikeSportz.

By Vincent Quezada

Photo Courtesy of DAZN,