One of Anthony Joshua’s old foes has listed five keys to victory that Francis Ngannou should employ when he faces the two-time world heavyweight champion on March 8 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
American contender Jermaine Franklin fought Joshua at The O2 Arena in April last year, coming up short after he was beaten via unanimous decision.
Since then, Franklin bounced back with a win in July – outpointing previously undefeated Mexican Isaac Munoz Gutierrez – and looks to re-join an exciting crop of heavyweights at world level.
Now, he has given his take on a fight that could decide who faces the winner of Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk, who meet for the undisputed crown in May. Whilst speaking to Action Network, Franklin listed five points that Ngannou should follow to come out on top.
“Francis needs to do these five things:
1. He needs to come out fast and bully AJ, Joshua does not like to be bullied.
2. He must use his jab to set up his power, he cannot look for one shot to take him out.
3. Francis needs to stay patient and wait for the opening like he did with Fury.
4. He will need to take AJ’s power, and if he can do that, he has a major chance to win.
5. He must focus on working the body and using angles to counter AJ’s power.”
On his professional boxing debut, former UFC champion Ngannou surprised everybody by dropping Fury in the third round of their contest last October, which is why Franklin gives him a good chance against Joshua.
“It would shock the world if he wins, but if Francis does those things, he wins for me, he has the heart and power.
“This man is coming to win. Not saying AJ is not doing the same thing but a fighter who has nothing to lose is a dangerous fighter.
Francis is also a smart fighter. When you look at his fight with Fury, he broke Fury down during some of those rounds. He has the power and ring intelligence to get the job done.”
There is less than one week to go to find out just if the upset will happen.