One man who has already succumbed to Anthony Joshua in the ring has made the rather shocking prediction that Joshua is ‘going to sleep for two days’ when he fights Francis Ngannou this weekend.
Joshua is hoping he can put on a better performance than Tyson Fury managed against Ngannou who was making his debut when the two fought in October last year.
The contest is another 10-rounder this weekend with the prize said to be a shot at the winner of the upcoming undisputed fight.
But one man who has shared the ring with Joshua, Carlos Takam, thinks he is going to come unstuck in a big way, as he told Lucky Block.
“AJ’s chin is a big danger for him. If Francis touches his chin, AJ is going to sleep for two days. AJ is definitely going to sleep for two days because of Francis’s power. His power comes from our country, our village, our ancestors.
“It’s Bamileke power and you cannot play with that power. In the stories the Bamileke people were fighters and warriors and Francis has that warrior heritage. I’m sure 100 percent AJ will sleep for two days if Francis touches him.
“Everyday I picture the fight between AJ and Francis and in my mind I see AJ knocked out. Francis is going to win that fight, but it’s not going to be easy. The strong guy is Francis, the smart guy is Francis, the only chance AJ has got is if he fights like Muhammed Ali. Keep the distance from Francis, fight AJ like Ali fought George Foreman. He needs to move like Ali.”
Takam went on further, stating that he thinks Joshua will be very defensive in the right.
“I think AJ is going to play it safe. I think the fight is going to play out like this: Francis will have to follow AJ around and AJ is going to place safe. I don’t think AJ will be taking risks, he won’t be confronting Francis.
“If he takes risks, he won’t finish that fight. If AJ confronts Francis that fight will be over in three rounds. But AJ’s going to play it smart because otherwise he’s in big danger.
“Against AJ you’re going to see a different Francis, a new boxer. Francis is going to shock the world. Francis learned a lot in the Tyson Fury fight. If he catches AJ like he caught Tyson, Francis will jump on AJ and finish the fight this time.
“Francis learned that from the Tyson Fury fight because when Tyson Fury went down, Francis did not really pay attention to the fact he put him down, I think he was really surprised, so I can tell you that’s what he learned from the Tyson fight.”
If Ngannou can learn lessons from his last fight and beat Joshua, who recently named his top heavyweights of all time, it would be one of the biggest upsets in the sport.