Francis Ngannou marks his second professional boxing contest against Anthony Joshua on March 8, and an unlikely win for the former UFC Champion will have dire consequences for the heavyweight division, says George Groves.
Ngannou dropped Tyson Fury in the third round of ten before making it to the final bell only to lose on a split decision. The performance, despite having a boxing record of 0-1, landed him another mega-money bout against ‘AJ.’
Speaking to Grosvenor Casinos, Groves said he believes Joshua can do what Fury couldn’t and get the stoppage.
“Ngannou hasn’t been boxing long, how can he defeat an Olympic champion who went on to win multiple world titles? AJ’s not past his best, he’s not on the way out. He looked flat at the start of last year but he looked a real force against Wallin.
So I hope he puts it on Ngannou and doesn’t put safety first. I hope he comes out hungry to make a statement, I think AJ can knock Ngannou out. I think he needs to win and win well. And if he doesn’t, we need to stop caring about the heavyweight division, it would be a farce. It would not happen in any other sport. You wouldn’t get Conor McGregor getting anywhere near anyone in the top ten in boxing. Joshua should easily out box him.”
The former super-middleweight world champion said Joshua’s legacy was on the line.
“Joshua has got it all to lose, a loss for Joshua would be curtains. His last defeat was against Oleksandr Usyk, who I think is a phenomenal fighter, whereas this time around, if he loses to Ngannou, a guy in his second fight, that’s going to be a disaster.
There will be a question mark over his career and legacy, especially because he’s not a faded fighter, he’s not shot, it’s not like Ngannou will be catching Joshua as the tail end of his career. AJ put in a really good performance against Wallin but if he’s beaten by Ngannou that’s a nightmare. It’s a big pressure fight.”
Finally, he was clear that it would be considered perhaps the biggest heavyweight upset of all time.
“Yes, it would be a bigger shock than Buster Douglas beating Tyson. Douglas wasn’t a bad fighter and Tyson was a ticking time bomb. That was a major, major shock, but Ngannou beating AJ would top it surely.”