Francis Ngannou suffered perhaps the best loss I've ever seen in his professional debut boxing. Then he faced Anthony Joshua.
The former UFC heavyweight champion lost to the former unified heavyweight champion called in just two rounds, but it proved to be a much tougher opponent for Ngannou than WBC champion Tyson Fury in October.
Ngannou entered Fury's fight as a heavy underdog against the champion — one promoter called it a “disgrace” — but he delivered a performance that didn't look out of place from the field, and he won many points. He set himself apart from other MMA fighters turned boxers. Veteran heavyweight contender. He was able to defeat Fury in the third round and had the crowd chanting his name in the final round.
He had no such luck in Riyadh on Friday. He was knocked down once in the first round and twice in the second, likely ending the Cameroonian's short-lived boxing career.
In the co-main event slog, Zhilei Zhang scored a two-round KO knockdown against Joseph Parker, but it wasn't enough as Parker won the WBC interim heavyweight title by majority decision. Chan took his foot off the pedal after knockdowns in both the third and sixth rounds, but Parker kept himself busy enough to earn points.
“We feel like we're on a roll right now, and Chan is a tough guy,” Parker said in his postgame interview. “He knocked me down twice. I'm very happy. I'm going to go home and celebrate. Hard work, hard work, hard work. It feels incredible, look, where we are. Next up is to fight Chan.''Again, that's what we signed up for. ”
Here's how the entire card will play out in Saudi Arabia:
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Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua main card results, highlights
Heavyweight: Anthony Joshua def. Francis Ngannou, KO in 2nd round:
Heavyweight: Joseph Parker def. Zhilei Zhang by majority decision (113-113, 114-112, 115-111)
Featherweight Championship: Rey Vargas vs. Nick Ball ends in a draw (114-112, 110-116, 113-113)
Super Welterweight Championship: Israel Madrimov def. Magomed Kurbanov 5R TKO
Lightweight: Mark Chamberlain def. Gavin Gwynne, lost by TKO in R4:
Heavyweight: Justice Huni def. Kevin Lerena unanimous decision (96-94, 96-94, 98-92)
Francis Ngannou vs. Anthony Joshua preliminary card results, highlights
Super Welterweight: Lewis Greene def. Jack McGann, R1 1:29 TKO:
Heavyweight: Andriy Nowitzki def. Juan Torres, 1R 2:43 TKO
Super Lightweight: Ziyad Almayuf def. Christian Lopez Flores Decision (60-54)
Heavyweight: Roman Fury def. Martin Swark decision (39-37)
