Many pundits believe Ngannou should have got the nod on the scorecards when he faced Fury in October, knocking the WBC heavyweight champion down before losing a tight split decision. But the Cameroonian proved no match for Joshua, who put Ngannou on the canvas in the opening round with a crisp straight right.
Ngannou made it to the bell for the end of the opening stanza, but he never recovered before another right hand toppled him in the second. He clawed his way to his feet but the fight was waved off seconds later when Joshua uncorked a thunderous right hand that knocked Ngannou out cold.
Fury sat in the front row and applauded as Joshua made light work of a man he could only beat by the narrowest of margins a few months ago. The pair are due to meet with the undisputed heavyweight title on the line if Fury beats Oleksandr Usyk in May – although Fury also suggested a rematch was part of that agreement – but Joshua made clear his distaste with Fury’s comments about him and Ngannou ahead of the fight.
“F*** Tyson Fury,” Joshua told iFLTV. “I don’t like trash-talking people but I heard him say something like ‘I’m here to do commentary about these two sausages. That guy I fought, that he fought, is an ex-UFC heavyweight champion. A phenomenal story of someone who has changed his life around and it’s just too disrespectful, so forget anything about [Fury] right now.”
Moments after the fight concluded, Joshua also subtly poked fun at Wilder in his interview in the ring. Wilder and Joshua were due to fight on Friday’s card, but Wilder was beaten handily by New Zealand’s Joseph Parker in December on the same night the 2012 Olympic champion beat Otto Wallin.
During his interview with lead broadcaster with DAZN, Joshua paid tribute to the coaches who have shaped his career from his days as an amateur to the present day, saying their hard work has helped him “’til this day”. The phrase became a viral meme when Wilder lost his cool with a reporter ahead of his first fight with Tyson Fury in 2018.
Wilder angrily shouted the phrase several times in the reporter’s, inspiring thousands of social media posts and even a song. Joshua, realising he had uttered the line, saw an opportunity to poke a bit of fun at “The Bronze Bomber”, and he obliged, repeating the words while mimicking Wilder’s voice.
Although the comment did not get a reaction in the arena, several fans on social media got Joshua’s reference. One wrote: “Joshua throwing shots at Wilder!”, while another added: “AJ is actually a troll. ‘Til this day’.”
