Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou: Tyson Fury, others predicts who’ll win

MailOnline reports that both the British former world champion and his opponent are riding high going into their meeting, with Joshua claiming a classy win against Otto Wallin in Riyadh in late December.

Ngannou was last year’s surprise package in his first ever heavyweight fight when he stopped Tyson Fury from waltzing away with victory by dropping the Gypsy King, and forcing him all the way – only to lose via split decision.

But the UFC crossover star’s statement of intent against Fury has helped bolster his image as a genuine prospect, and an opponent Joshua shouldn’t be taking for granted.

That being said, what do the experts think? Here, Mail Sport breaks down the predictions from some of the biggest names in the sport ahead of Friday’s fight night in Saudi Arabia.

Frank Warren

The Queensberry promoter hedged his bets in conversation with Mail Sport, but stressed that Ngannou could not be ruled out.

I can see a case for either of them (winning),’ Warren told Mail Sport.

‘I just think whoever lands the first meaningful punch… (it’s) how they respond to it. If AJ gets caught, if he catches him and hurts him, I think he’ll fight on the back foot and I don’t think that’s a good thing to do with this guy.’

Warren added that he thinks it ‘will be a knockout’ – possibly for Ngannou.

‘If he catches AJ will he go back and fight the way he did against Ruiz in the second fight off the back foot? And if he does that, that’s actually not going to be that good for him.

‘He’s got to come out and he’s got to impose himself on this big man.’

Speaking to the Sun, the Olympic silver medallist stood firmly in the AJ camp.

If he gets the knock out or outboxes Ngannou and makes it look so easy, I think it will be a big statement in the world of boxing, especially the heavyweight division,’ Khan said.

‘There’s still that talk that the Joshua and Fury fight should still happen so this is a good chance for Joshua to show how good he is.

‘Obviously, Ngannou surprised us all because that massive fight he had with Tyson Fury and how close the fight was, it could have gone either way.

But the fight with Joshua, Joshua’s gonna know now how hard he gave a fight to Fury. So I’m sure he’s going to be on his A-game. He’s not going to make the same mistakes and he’s going to train very hard for this fight.

For Joshua’s win, Khan predicted: ‘I think it could be a mid-round, mid-fight knockout maybe four, five, six rounds. Or, it could be a 12-round

Verdict: Joshua 

Tyson Fury 

The Gypsy King has cut a mischievous presence in Saudi Arabia ahead of taking a seat ringside, but he was unwilling to fall on either side of the debate when asked for his thoughts on which man was going to come out on top.

‘They are both two big strong guys and that’s why it is called knockout chaos,’ Fury said. ‘Anyone can win it.

They are both big punchers who are not very hard to hit, so they can both land and do damage. I would like to back the former heavyweight world champion (Joshua) but then again who the f*** am I to say anything?

‘If Francis wins then it sets up a massive rematch between us, but if AJ wins then it sets up a big British fight.’