A resurgent Anthony Joshua will be fighting for the fourth time in 13 months when he faces Francis Ngannou and former cruiserweight champion Johnny Nelson has now weighed in with his prediction.
Ngannou has gone from unknown to most fight fans to being one of the most recognisable faces in the sport in just a few short months.
His first professional contest came against Tyson Fury in October when he defied the odds and not only last the distance but push the WBC champion hard, knocking him down and having some people believing he won, although it was Fury who got the split decision.
Off the back of that, he is stepping up against former two-time champion Joshua who will be hoping to win in more impressive fashion and use Ngannou, who is training out in Saudi Arabia, as a yardstick in which he can be judged as he works towards another world title.
Speaking to Boxing King Media, Nelson sees it as a straightforward win for Joshua.
“I think AJ gets the job done easy. Everybody knows what to expect [from Ngannou]. The same happened with Andy Ruiz and his fast hands.
At first, you saw a little fat Mexican, nobody respected him then you see what he did to AJ, it’s like damn. How active has Ruiz been since those two fights with AJ? He’s in the who needs him club.”
He said that Ngannou has lost the element of surprise following his unexpected good debut.
“Now we know Ngannou can’t be hustled and pressed you have to be on your a-game. You can’t go in there like Fury did and drop the ball because you’d be embarrassed.
He knows Ngannou is tough, strong, and AJ has to be sharp, use his movement, be fit, if not he gets turned over.”