Francis Ngannou has slammed boxing promoters for giving Anthony Joshua an unfair advantage in their fight.
Ngannou was knocked out in the second round in his second boxing bout, much to the disappointment of fans. He failed to follow up on his impressive showing against Tyson Fury. The Predator dropped Fury in the third round while managing to last the distance in an impressive debut. Despite losing a split decision, many felt Ngannou had done enough to win. But when it came to facing Joshua, Ngannou was unhappy with the scheduling.
He recalled how he was made to wait for the media obligations that ran beyond the scheduled times. Ngannou also referred to how the fight happened much later than planned. He had prepared to box Joshua for around 1 am, while the fight started much later at 3:30 am. Ngannou recalled feeling tired before he entered the boxing ring. Given that Matchroom and Queensbury were responsible for the scheduling, Ngannou was unhappy.
JUST IN: Floyd Mayweather Promises Two Lucky Fans a Trip to Mexico for John Gotti III Rematch, Find Out How to Participate
Francis Ngannou says "something wasn't right" in his fight against Anthony Joshua 🤔
"I remember being there, I start having blurry vision. My team was in front of me speaking to me, and then the voice was getting distant…
I don't know what it was but something wasn't right."… pic.twitter.com/S4JlHt00Sp
— Championship Rounds (@ChampRDS) July 24, 2024
“Not to say Anthony Joshua couldn’t beat me. I think if there’s somebody that you can lose against, he’s the guy, he’s one of the best doing it. This is definitely not on him, because he wasn’t the guy that was sending all those emails, organizing. So I’m not blaming him for anything. But the organization, they did quite some stuff that wasn’t fair.
“His team was part of the organization because it was Queensbury (Promotions) and Matchroom (Boxing), those emails were coming to me from them. Those were the people that were sending the schedule, and every day they send everything, the pickup time, the program, the schedule,” Ngannou said
Nevertheless, Ngannou has earned enough money to set him up for the rest of his career. He is now in a position where he does not have to fight unless it is for the right bout. The Predator is the former UFC Heavyweight Champion, meaning he has beaten the best in the MMA world. He has also been appointed Chairman of PFL Africa, giving him a career outside of fighting.
The organization will hold its play-off season next year, as the best African talent faces off against each other. Ngannou is expected to make his PFL debut this year. However, the passing of his son did complicate matters. His 15-month-old son, Kobe, died, raising question marks over whether Ngannou would fight again. PFL Chairman Donn Davis first hoped that Ngannou would fight in the summer. While Ngannou still expects to fight, the timing has now been moved.
“It’s working pretty good, we have a good relationship. Perhaps, I will be fighting by the end of the year. I think Renan Ferreira is the guy [I will fight next]. He’s dangerous, I think [that fight will be in Saudi Arabia], that’s what the PFL is working on. [It will likely take place] in October. They’re working on October, it’s not finalized yet but they were talking about October 19th [as the date],” Ngannou stated
Francis Ngannou told Joe Rogan that Anthony Joshua arrived 15 minutes before their bout was scheduled to start. Ngannou believes this was a strategy & the delayed start time, helped AJ secure the victory. As Ngannou had trained his body clock for the bout to start much earlier‼️
— Boxing Kingdom (@BoxingKingdom14) July 24, 2024
1 Comment
Pingback: Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois: Dubois could have had the "wake up call" he needed to beat Joshua