Francis Ngannou suffered a brutal second-round knockout at the hands of Anthony Joshua. He’s now blaming a “weird” pre-fight schedule for his loss.
Ngannou made his boxing debut last October against world champion Tyson Fury. To the surprise of many boxing fans, the MMA star held his own with Fury.
Ngannou lost the contest via a controversial judge’s decision but parlayed that success into a bout with champion-level boxer Anthony Joshua.
Joshua sent Ngannou to the mat three times, including the final blow in the second round. The former UFC champion blames a “weird” lead-up to the fight for his poor showing.
Ngannou blames early pickup time for Joshua loss
According to Ngannou, his pickup time to head to the arena was 10:30 PM, but the start time for the fight wasn’t until 1:45 AM.
In an interview with Ariel Helwani, Ngannou revealed that Joshua did not arrive at the arena until hours after he did.
Francis Ngannou thinks his pick up time to go to the arena was too early.#TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/Cj8iCnpBdE
— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) March 18, 2024
“I was there at least two hours before him. I could have just stayed home,” Ngannou said.
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“I was in the locker room waiting for four-and-a-half hours. Even warming up and sweating, but still getting tired. I’m sweating, and I feel like I’m asleep.
“When the fight started, I was never there. I took the first punch; I was awake but didn’t really feel it.
“I feel myself down [on the canvas], and I’m like, ‘Man, what’s going on?’ And then, I’m being counted out.
"I don’t remember when I came back from stool to go back to the second round… I wasn't there anymore."Francis Ngannou talks about having a "weird" fight day for his fight against Anthony Joshua.▶️ https://t.co/05cMt0MkBb #TheMMAHour pic.twitter.com/A0XRZhjpxn
— MMA Fighting (@MMAFighting) March 18, 2024
Ngannou knew that fighting in Saudi Arabia would throw off his internal clock, thanks to his previous fighting experience in Riyadh.
However, according to the MMA-star-turned-boxer, it was the “weird” pickup time that he didn’t account for.
Some boxing fans are calling it an excuse to justify losing to Joshua. Others are joining Ngannou in blaming the disparity in pickup times for his loss.