American contender Jermaine Franklin has been speaking about Anthony Joshua’s imminent fight with Francis Ngannou and made a rather shock prediction.
Joshua and Ngannou come together on March 8 in a big night of boxing out in Saudi Arabia that all features Joseph Parker versus Zhilei Zhang on the undercard.
It will be just Ngannou’s second professional boxing match following his legendary debut against Tyson Fury in October last year when he knocked the WBC and Lineal heavyweight champion down and pushed him hard over 10 rounds though ultimately lost on points.
It will be his fourth fight in 11 months following knockout wins over Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and a points victory over Franklin, all in 2023. Now, speaking to Action Network, Franklin has given his views on the contest.
“AJ should win this fight on paper, but my heart and gut is saying Francis wins by KO. I just think back to the Ruiz fight, how Ruiz just kept coming forward and throwing punches and catching AJ. I think we will see a repeat of what happened at Madison Square Garden when AJ was stopped on his American debut.
“I think AJ will box well, but when Francis eventually detonates, we may see AJ sent to the canvas on multiple occasions. Francis must brawl to win like Ruiz did, and I think if he does, he will win by knockout. AJ is a great fighter, but every fighter’s chin is different. AJ does not have the best chin, so one punch can change this fight for Francis.
“Also, AJ does not like chasing guys around the ring. AJ’s main weakness is AJ. If he feels he cannot knock you out he will start to hold and grab and that is when you get him. He did that to me in our fight if you look at the tape.”
The winner of the fight is set to face the winner of the undisputed fight on May 18 between Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, so there will be a lot on the line come next weekend as Joshua aims to disprove Fury’s claims that he is the best of his generation.