A well-schooled amateur boasting Olympic gold and a two-time world champion with wins against some of the best in the division, Joshua’s experience prevails in the early hours in Riyadh.
The razzmatazz of Saudi boxing was on show, albeit still under the backdrop of critics claiming the Kingdom is using high-profile sporting events to ‘sports wash’ away its human rights records.
While it was not the star studded affair seen in past event in the region, former champions Amir Khan and Manny Pacquiao rubbed shoulders with the likes of football manager Jose Mourinho and Brazilian World Cup winner Ronaldo.
The card was billed as ‘knockout chaos’ but the Saudi crowd – as they usually do – behaved in a very quiet and orderly manner.
The pressure was on Joshua to deliver a message to rival Fury. A fighter who has faced an intense level of scrutiny in recent years, Joshua acknowledged the impact of trainer Ben Davison.
Davison was in Joshua’s corner for the second time, having also overseen December’s dominant win over Otto Wallin.
“I didn’t want to disrespect Ngannou but he’s not been hit by someone like AJ before,” Davison told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I’ll let people judge whether he is improving. The only way to find out who is the best is to get the winner of Fury and Usyk. That’s the only thing that makes sense.”
Whether Ngannou listens to Joshua’s advice and returns to the sport anytime soon awaits to be soon, but the ‘Predator’ is a proven winner – whether it be in life, the UFC octagon or a boxing ring.
His journey has taken him from a 12-year-old working in sand quarry in Cameroon to living on the streets of Paris, before becoming UFC champion.
Although his childhood dream of becoming a boxing world champion may never become reality, Ngannou is set to return to MMA later this year with the PFL in search of his next prey.
