Sport News AfricaNews · Scores · Fantasy
Sport News Africa
FR

Francis Ngannou: "I can't wait to get the fight started"

Francis Ngannou will face Anthony Joshua in Saudi Arabia this Friday, 8 March. The Cameroonian has issued a warning to the Englishman.

Sport News Africa · Author profile ·

Listen to this story

Audio version in preparation · read aloud by your browser meanwhile

Five months after stunning the world by putting Tyson Fury, one of the greatest heavyweights of this generation, through the wringer, Francis Ngannou is back in a boxing ring. Far from the MMA cages where he made his name in the sport's history books, the Cameroonian fighter wants to carve out a reputation in the sweet science. After Tyson Fury, he is taking on Anthony Joshua, an Englishman of Nigerian descent. Four days before this eagerly awaited fight, Ngannou feels ready. "I feel good. I'm very excited. I finished my camp yesterday. It's been eight tough weeks to get here, and to feel that you've done everything you had to do. It's incredible. I can't wait to get the fight started," the Cameroonian told Sky Sport in an interview.

"If I hit someone, I can knock him out"

Less technical than those who have boxed for years, Francis Ngannou is nonetheless confident in his power. "I think that if I hit someone, I can knock him out. Now, the question is how to land. That's the hardest thing. Everyone in this division… Almost everyone here can knock everyone out. You have to learn to harness that power and energy from the first round to the fifth. Even over 10 rounds. You have to be able to punch hard or knock someone out despite the fatigue and everything else. It's a game of chess," warned the Batié native, who is 37 years old.

Original SNA publication

Find a story

The 12 stories in this preview.

The SNA Weekly

Catch up on the stories and issues shaping African sport.

Choose your newsletter language and confirm your subscription by email.

Open SNA newsletter