Boxing News: Francis Ngannou Vows to Take Anthony Joshua's Soul in March Super Fight
Francis Ngannou has promised to take Anthony Joshua's soul in their March 8 boxing superfight in Riyadh.
The French-Cameroonian fighter's talk was spurred on by remarks made by the British fighter in an interview with DAZN on January 15:
"This fight is my everything: my soul, my spirit, my mind, my body. Right now I’m not thinking about any championship belts," Joshua explained. ".... You have to take someone's soul, you have to take their spirit. And I'm looking forward to the challenge for sure."
Ngannou believes the direct opposite will happen. "The Predator" responded to Joshua's remarks in an interview on February 4:
"They say never say never. Nothing is impossible, right?” Ngannou told High Performance. “We don’t know the strength of Anthony Joshua... but we’re going to find out in two months. We’re going to find out, and I think the reverse is going to happen. I’m going to be the one taking his soul."
The general agreement is that Joshua is expected to secure a clear victory in this upcoming bout. Ngannou faced overwhelming odds as an underdog against Tyson Fury in late 2023, and while the margins are slightly narrower this time, it hasn't deterred pundits and boxing legends from cautioning "AJ" about the impending match.
Lennox Lewis, widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, warned Joshua about the optics of facing Ngannou.
"If AJ beats Ngannou, which he should, does that elevate him to a shot at undisputed?" Lewis said in a Twitter thread in January. "Beating [Otto] wallin & Ngannou? There's much better case for the winner of [Joseph Parker vs. Zhilei Zhang]."
"The Lion's" words ring true, but Joshua has already alluded to the fact he isn't chasing undisputed status anymore, "I'm done with all that," Joshua told The Mirror.
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