Anthony Joshua has officially reinserted himself into heavyweight title contention by knocking out MMA legend Francis Ngannou. Their bout, which took place Friday in Riyadh, Saudia Arabia, was appropriately entitled Knockout Chaos. Joshua knocked down Ngannou three times in two rounds to capture a dominant second-round knockout victory.
Ngannou fought behind an extended lead left hand and appeared to be hunting for left hooks. Joshua did a good job of managing distance and picking shots, which allowed him to knock Ngannou down and eventually out.
Each of Joshua's three knockdowns resulted from straight right hands delivered by Joshua. The first knockdown was midway through round one and saw Ngannou up at the count of eight.
Ngannou survived the round but was dropped again midway through the second round. Ngannou got up and reengaged, but Joshua's first punch was another brutal straight right that knocked Ngannou completely unconscious.
Joshua's celebrations were minimal, as attention in the ring turned to Ngannou's wellbeing. Ngannou remained down for a brief period before sitting up and eventually standing up. He received supplemental oxygen but appeared to be alright.
Joshua's incredible performance seems to have undeniably put the Brit back into title contention. Joshua called out the winner of Fury-Usyk, who will clash in on May 18 to crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000.
Joshua seems to be the only logical challenger for the winner of Fury-Usyk. Knockout Chaos also saw Joseph Parker defeat Zhilei Zhang to become the new WBO interim heavyweight champion, but Parker publicly stated his plans to rematch Zhang. This leaves the heavyweight title picture relatively open aside from Joshua.
Daniel Dubois had a great showing against Jarrell Miller on the undercard of Joshua's last fight against Otto Wallin, but I don't think Dubois is ready to face this version of Joshua. Even so, Joshua would be foolish to take a fight knowing he's already earned a chance at boxing's undisputed heavyweight championship.
Ngannou will now return to MMA, where he will fight Renan Ferreira in the PFL. Ferreira won PFL's 2023 heavyweight tournament and recently demolished Bellator champion Ryan Bader in 21 seconds to earn a fight against Ngannou.
Ferreira's signature weapon is the same straight right hand that knocked Ngannou out on Friday. Ngannou will need to avoid such a strike if he hopes to regain momentum in his return to the world of mixed martial arts.
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