Francis Ngannou issues statement following nasty KO loss to Anthony Joshua

Francis Ngannou has issued a statement after suffering a brutal knockout loss to Anthony Joshua this evening in Saudi Arabia.

Ngannou (17-3 MMA, 0-2 Boxing) squared off with the former WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight champion Joshua (28-3) in tonight’s headliner in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The contest marked the former UFC heavyweight champion’s second professional boxing bout, as he previously took on reigning WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury last fall. Despite being an enormous betting underdog for his pro boxing debut, ‘The Predator’ shocked the world by knocking down ‘The Gypsy King’ and taking the fight all the way to the judges’ scorecards. Although he wound up suffering a split decision defeat, Ngannou’s stock only rose in the controversial setback.

Meanwhile, Anthony Joshua had most previously competed a last month’s ‘Day of Reckoning’ event, where he scored a fifth-round TKO victory over Otto Wallin (see that here). That finish marked Joshua’s third win in a row, as he had previously scored victories over Robert Helenius and Jermaine Franklin respectively.

Tonight’s ‘Joshua vs. Ngannou’ bout proved to be a one-sided affair. Anthony Joshua was able to drop Francis Ngannou with a left jab early in the opening round and proceeded to cruise from there. The British heavyweight was clearly faster and more technically sound and utilized those traits to put ‘The Predator’ to sleep with a big right hand in round two (see that here).

Official Result: Anthony Joshua def. Francis Ngannou via KO at 2:38 of Round 2

Shortly following the conclusion of tonight’s event, ‘The Predator’ took to social media where he shared the following statement to his fans:

https://twitter.com/francis_ngannou/status/1766274683408650260

“Sorry guys I let you all down 😔 Today was a bad day in the office but tomorrow will be another day.
Thank you all for the love ❤️” – Ngannou wrote.

Would you like to see Francis Ngannou return to the boxing ring following tonight’s devastating knockout loss to Anthony Joshua?