Joshua won his last three fights before accepting this meeting with Ngannou, whose talent and name recognition turned it into a big-money matchup.
British boxer Anthony Joshua has crushed former UFC title-holder Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia.
The former two-time world champion demolished the ex-MMA star by knockout in the second round with a huge right hand.
Cameroonian fighter Ngannou toppled to the canvas after the destructive final punch from 34-year-old Joshua, as the crowd in Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena erupted.
Dazed and hurt, Ngannou managed to recover and exchanged words with Joshua, as the victor urged him “not to leave” boxing despite his crushing defeat.
Joshua praised his opponent on his October bout with Tyson Fury – a clash which the Cameroonian narrowly lost – saying: “When I saw the fight with Fury, I thought damn, this guy could fight, I wanted a piece of that.”
The boxer who hails from Watford added Ngannou was an “inspiration [and a] a great champion” and the loss “shouldn’t take away from his capabilities”.
“He can come again. I told him he shouldn’t leave boxing. He’s two fights in, and he’s fought the best,” Joshua said.
Joshua’s words of comfort came after a relentless couple of rounds, where he floored Ngannou twice before flattening him out cold with an unblocked right hand.
Ngannou began the fight well with a few early hits but was shaken by the might of the Londoner whose boxing career continues to shine.
Joshua won his last three fights before accepting the meeting with Ngannou, whose talent and name recognition turned it into a big-money matchup.
Speaking to Sky Sports afterwards, Joshua said the victory was “not that satisfying” and that it was “onto the next” fight.
“The heavyweight division is one of the toughest in the world. It is what it is. People can question me, I do my best every time but I’m not even buzzing about the win. Onto the next… let’s go.”
Next on the cards for Joshua may be the winner of the Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk bout which takes place at the same venue on 18 May, as he confidently said: “If they want me, they can come knocking at my door. If they do knock on the door, I say let’s go.”