Anthony Joshua takes on Francis Ngannou in a huge clash next week, but that hasn’t stopped ‘AJ’ hitting back at claims that Tyson Fury is the best heavyweight of the generation.
Two-time world title holder Joshua goes up against former UFC heavyweight champion Ngannou in a bout scheduled for March 8 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The two men recently had their face-off interview on DAZN, where ‘AJ’ was asked whether he was surprised at Ngannou’s performance against Fury in October last year.
The boxing debutant scored a dramatic third-round knockdown but lost the fight on points, however Joshua still feels that performance shows why Fury isn’t the best around.
“I research Ngannou. I’ve watched Tyson Fury box a number of times. People claim he’s the greatest of many, many generations but, I think if I box Tyson Fury, a lot of similarities will happen in the fight.
“So I’m not surprised at all. In terms of [Ngannou’s] style, who Fury is, it’s just a boxing match. Well done to both of them, they put on an entertaining fight. But that’s in the past. That’s how boxing is, and we move forwards now.”
Fury will have an opportunity to prove his worth in this generation as he takes on Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship on May 18.
If Joshua gets through Ngannou, he could be on course to face the winner of Fury-Usyk, cementing his name in the history books in the process.