Francis Ngannou had no remorse regarding his bout against Anthony Joshua.
Earlier this month, Ngannou stepped into the ring for his second professional boxing match against Anthony Joshua in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, it turned into a debacle as he suffered a brutal knockout in the second round, hitting the canvas twice.
Ngannou on Joshua Fight: “I do not have any regrets”
In the aftermath, there were murmurs suggesting that such an outcome was looming since Ngannou’s almost miraculous performance against Tyson Fury in 2023, where he nearly pulled off one of the most unexpected upsets in boxing history.
Ngannou, however, attributes the loss to an unusually off night. Reflecting on the experience, he finds solace in knowing he gave his all to prepare for success.
During his interview with MMA Hour the former UFC heavyweight champion elaborated on the subject:
“This is one thing that also helped me to be OK with it: as far as a training camp, I had my best training camp. I was in my best condition. The best. Even if we had to start this again, I really don’t see a thing that I should have done different. We did a good training camp in Riyadh and everything was good, except that fight day where things were very odd.”
Critics of Ngannou point to his decision to switch to a southpaw stance in the first round, which ultimately led to his first knockdown, as evidence that he lacked the experience to contend with a top-tier boxer. Ngannou, however, disagrees with this assessment.
“I do not have any regrets. Now that I lost the fight, we can say anything that I’ve done wrong. We worked on everything, and everything was OK. This was all my [choice]. Even in southpaw, my defense is more sharp than orthodox. In the southpaw, to take a hit from the right back hand, this is something that in sparring never happened, and I’ve been there so many times practicing.
“So I really have no regrets, because that was our training and we improved everything. I really have no regrets. We worked toward that, we made that decision, and we stand by it. … With the same southpaw, I think we basically won the fight against Tyson.”
However, the defeat has altered perspectives on Ngannou’s boxing skills. Subsequent to the knockout, notable individuals even proposed that Ngannou could be defeated by Joshua in an MMA contest, while others advocated for his complete withdrawal from boxing.
For Ngannou, external opinions hold little weight. He remains steadfast in his pursuit of his passions and remains unfazed by the criticism of others.
“It doesn’t bother me. I think I get to the point where, we have been here so many times talking about drama, what people think, what people say, that I think I’m at the point where I don’t really let what people say affect me. I don’t mind that much what people say, because they will always have something to say. But I also think this was exactly what was expected. I think if I was treated wrong, everything that happened was just to restore this, because regardless, I kind of disrespected the system a little bit.”
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