Two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua silenced doubters with an emphatic second-round knockout against Francis Ngannou last weekend, but AJ’s potential next dance-partner has revealed that he was unimpressed by the stoppage.
Joshua floored the Cameroonian on three occasions within just two rounds, with the final of those knockdowns rendering ‘The Predator’ unconscious on the canvas and bringing the bout to an end.
The win is expected to line ‘AJ’ up for the winner of the upcoming undisputed title showdown between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, but the rematch clause means he will likely have to wait until 2025 for the opportunity.
Meanwhile, the IBF heavyweight world title is expected to be vacated after the first Fury-Usyk fight, with Filip Hrgovic poised to battle for the vacant belt, and there are growing suspicions that Joshua could face him in a bid to become a three-time champion.
In an interview with iFL TV, Hrgovic admitted that the knockout was a ‘stunning one’ but was still unimpressed, declaring that Joshua did what was expected of him and that any serious contender in the division would do the same.
“I’m not so impressed. I thought it was going to end in that way, that is the way that fight should’ve ended – a guy who has one fight fighting a two-time heavyweight champion of the world – that’s the way it should be.
“I don’t know what to be impressed with, Joshua did what he needed to do, it’s not such a huge deal.
“It would have finished in that way with a lot of the top heavyweights [against Ngannou]. That knockout was stunning, he went to sleep, you can’t practice that knockout but I don’t think that he [Ngannou] has a chance with any top heavyweight.”
The fate of the IBF belt will be determined during the aftermath of Fury-Usyk, which takes place on May 18th.