Anthony Joshua knocked out Francis Ngannou in the second round of their heavyweight boxing match for a stirring victory in Friday’s heavyweight bout in Saudi Arabia.
The British-Nigerian fighter twice floored the Cameroonian at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena with a knocked down in the first round, and the second round and then delivered the knockout punch at 2:38 of the second round.
The knockout blow, a powerful right hand, left Ngannou out cold. Ngannou, the former UFC champion, was down on the canvas for more than a minute and received oxygen, according to the DAZN broadcast.
The victory was the fourth straight for Joshua (28-3) after his back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine.
Joshua had his eye on victory to set up a potential fight with WBC champion Tyson Fury, which now seems inevitable given the manner of the victory.
Cameroon’s Ngannou is a former UFC and was standing in only his second boxing bout having floored Fury in an eventual loss in his debut.
Fury will face Oleksandr Usyk – the WBA, IBF, and WBO champion – in their rearranged May 18 bout that will crown the first undisputed heavyweight champion since 2000.
