Francis Ngannou’s trainer has warned Anthony Joshua there is no ‘master plan’ to beat the former UFC heavyweight champion, confident his fighter outclasses the former Olympian in every department.
Ngannou stunned the boxing world on his professional debut last October, flooring Tyson Fury with a monstrous left hand in the third round of their October showdown in Saudi Arabia.
While he was on the wrong end of a controversial split decision that night, his performance solidified his new status as a legitimate threat in heavyweight boxing.
Despte that, the narrative that followed largely concluded Fury took his eye off the ball that night, a mistake Joshua will surely not make when the two collide back in Riyadh on Friday night.
While long recognised as one of MMA’s elite names, Ngannou the boxer was an unknown quantity against Fury, a true wildcard who arrived with an aura of mystique around him. There is a perception that the world has now seen what he is capable of and that his best qualities are an open secret, there to be studied and deciphered by Joshua and his team.
It’s a notion laughed off by Dewey Cooper, Ngannou’s long-time trainer and the man who has guided him in his transition from MMA to the boxing ring.
Cooper told Metro.co.uk: ‘That was the narrative that immediately emerged after the Tyson Fury fight. “AJ now he has the video to study Francis, he has the answers”.
‘It is stupid. It is stupid to say world champions don’t know what they are doing. To assume a guy has now got his opponent’s number and has this master plan because he has seen one fight, that’s even more stupid.
‘And it’s even more stupid to say because a guy has seen one fight, he has got his number and now suddenly has the master plan to defeat Francis Ngannou. He has been improving in every single aspect of his game.’
At a press conference launching the fight earlier this year, Ngannou took aim at his opponent, becoming the latest fighter to question the former world champion’s chin. Joshua’s ability to take a punch has been scrutinised ever since Andy Ruiz Jr left him in a daze in Madison Square Garden five years ago.
In that time, Joshua, once one of the division’s great knockout artists, has been accused of being gun-shy. While there was that old ferocity back in his work in his last two wins against Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin, his ability to take it in return has been under question.
Having seen Joshua in too many wars over the years, it’s an argument Cooper rejects. But in his eyes, even a granite chin is not enough to deal with the power of Ngannou.
‘I don’t necessarily agree with the weak chin theory,’ Cooper continued. ‘He got dropped by Ruiz and everyone indicted him for that. That night AJ went for the finish and was caught again and again and he paid the price. He wasn’t getting outclassed; he should have won that fight by stoppage but got careless and got caught.
‘I have seen Anthony Joshua fight too much and get caught with too many shots to say he has a weak chin. I don’t think that’s a weakness.
‘For weaknesses, it may be self-confidence. It may be the fact he was at the top for so long and the silk sheets got to him a little bit. Things went bad against [Oleksandr] Uysk.
‘But when I look at him, I see a strong Olympic gold medallist with tremendous boxing ability and really good power to make sure we say sharp. I see a real dangerous fighter.
‘But in every aspect I see Joshua being good, his great jabs, good body work, his stopping power with one punch, I see Francis with the same attributes but even better.
‘When Francis says you don’t have a chin, that’s not him being disrespectful. He is the hardest puncher in the world and no one has a chin like him. When he lands, the fight is over. He feels Joshua has no chin because if he touches him like that the fight will be over. But that’s him against anyone.’
An emphatic win for Joshua against Ngannou would serve as a huge statement given how Fury struggled against him six months ago. Assessing the differences between the two English giants, Cooper believes Joshua represents the more ‘conventional’ challenge – but still one to be feared.
‘You couldn’t get more opposites ends of the spectrum in their personalities and their fight styles,’ Cooper said. ‘Tyson Fury is a highly dimensional, skilled hybrid boxer. Joshua is a bit more conventional, sticks to his basics. But he stays sharp and has a lot of power and can knock you out in a split second. So they are opposites in almost every way.’
Does that mean Joshua is better fit for Ngannou in his mission to conquer the world of boxing? ‘We are suited for any fight out there.
‘People proclaim Francis to be the baddest man on the planet and I second that doctrine. It doesn’t matter who it is. He is big enough, strong enough, athletic enough and intelligent enough to take on them all.
‘I wouldn’t say this is a better fight for him. But on paper, this fight seems to be more of a conventional fight when there aren’t as many dimensions to worry about.
‘However, sometimes less is more. The guy with a 100 cards in his hand might not have that one special one. That can pose more problems. But Francis is ready for anything.’
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