ANTHONY JOSHUA obliterated Francis Ngannou in two sensational rounds to cement his place back in the world heavyweight title race.
The same man who took Tyson Fury the distance of 10 rounds on his boxing debut in October – and lost the WBC Gypsy King – has never laid a glove on our 34-year-old superstar.
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Anthony Joshua knocked out Francis Ngannou in the second round Credit: Getty
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Ngannou fell three timesCredit: Reuters
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Ngannou was left out for the countCredit: Reuters
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Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou pose together after the fight Credit: Instagram
AJ was the perfect puncher, calm and measured while also being ruthless and savage, knocking the former UFC star to the ground twice before landing the knockout blow.
Ngannou jumped off the Riyadh canvas twice early on, but took ages to recover from a final blow that almost took his head off like the Swede.
He was subsequently given oxygen after being helped to his corner.
After finally getting to his feet, Joshua said to the cameras: “What’s up, what’s up.
“On the road to the championship, you always need to stay focused, and I had to step away from the mission. I thought it was just a trick for broadcasters.
“When I saw the Tyson Fury fight, I thought this guy can fight, I want a piece of that.
“I wanted to welcome him and this does not take anything away from him, he can come again.
“I’m still learning and pushing, I don’t know if I’m reaching my peak, if it was me down there you’d say ‘Anthony Joshua should retire’.
“In five years I will be done fighting and sitting and all this will be a distant memory.
“I’m going to go back and lock myself in my cage and they can let me out when they want me to fight. I just want to fight.”
Before the anthems and introductions – around 3:30am local time, as the British boxing media began to worry about catching their Saturday flights home – AJ dropped to his knees in his red corner and prayed.
Then the London 2012 legend wandered around the ring as ‘The Predator’ Ngannou stood dead still in his blue section of the Riyadh arena.
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AJ hit his textbook jab from the first, cheering the 37-year-old’s giant torso and head.
The Cameroon giant was throwing leading left hooks – which he told us he knew had caused AJ problems throughout his amateur and professional career.
And then suddenly AJ detonated an excellent right that sent Ngannou down on the canvas and almost out of the game.
The boxing rookie appeared to be finished, but he showed great heart – to match his muscles – to climb back up and survive the remaining 45 seconds, which must have felt like a lifetime.
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Ngannou came out aggressiveCredit: Getty
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But Joshua was the faster of the twoCredit: Reuters
And Ngannou was taken down again in the second with a violent right-left hook, but bravely beat the counter for the second time.
But he bounced off the canvas too quickly and AJ dropped him into another dimension with a sickening kick that folded his huge leg in half and forced the referee to wave a one-sided takedown – without even wasting his breath to count.
In a fight that was aimed at pitting the kings of MMA and boxing against each other, the first row was a true football royalty.
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Ngannou fell a total of three timesCredit: Reuters
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The right hand could not missCredit: Reuters
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Ngannou was knocked unconscious Credit: Getty
AJ’s exit – for a former bricklayer who says he only does razzamatazz for paying fans – was more Siegfried and Roy than bricks and mortar.
Not bad for the man who said in the crowd: “It’s not how you get in, it’s how you get out that matters.
“That’s my opinion. But at the same time, I know it’s not for me, it’s for the audience. I only do it for the audience.
“I used to go in without music. It’s a job. You want to go in there and do your job at the end of the day.”
And he left early – without evening doing a six-minute shift – knocking the MMA man back to his rightful place.
And now he can wait patiently to see how Fury and Oleksandr Usyk – the man who robbed him of the WBA, IBF and WBO world titles in two painful points – will fare on May 18.
Because Joshua – after this showing and October’s destruction of Otto Wallin – is now back to his brilliant and brutal best.
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Joshua celebrates his victory Credit: Getty
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Source: HIS Education