On Friday night, Anthony Joshua put Francis Ngannou out for the count and more with a pulverizing punch in Saudia Arabia.
Joshua ended UFC fighters crossing over to boxing with a massive exclamation point as the Londoner smashed Ngannou to pieces. The referee could have counted to fifty as Joshua hit a finishing knockdown that wiped out the former UFC heavyweight champion.
Ngannou lay prone on the canvas for a while, and things seemed a little hairy. However, he eventually got to his feet, took on some oxygen, and was fine.
A ringside Tyson Fury applauded the shot from Joshua with an eyebrow-raising look on his face. “The Gypsy King” must have thought it could have been him at the end of that shot.
Joshua’s second-round triumph marked an excellent period of activity for Joshua, who is on the verge of sealing a world title shot in 2024.
Once the first Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk fight is out of the way this spring, Joshua is in line to face Filip Hrgovic for the vacant IBF crown.
Parker beats Zhang
Joseph Parker once again proved he was a warrior and true heavyweight contender as he recovered from two knockdowns and won a majority decision over Zhilei Zhang.
Parker is now the interim WBO heavyweight champion after weathering the storm from the Chinese juggernaut to seal the victory.
Five wins in a row, including victories over Zhang and Deontay Wilder, prove Parker still has another world title shot in his locker.
With both proving to be the most active heavyweights in the world, a rematch between Parker and Anthony Joshua wouldn’t be out of the question.
Everything depends on whether Joshua can pick up the vacant IBF title from Filip Hrgovic after Fury vs Usyk on May 18 splits the belts.
Parker could be elevated to full champion in late May as the current interim titleholder if the WBO sees fit. Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have a rematch clause.
This leaves the WBO, like the IBF, with a big decision on May 19.
Vargas vs Ball
In the back-up to the co-feature event, Nick Ball overcame a massive height advantage to defeat Rey Vargas seemingly via a unanimous decision.
After a slow start, the Liverpool man was relentless and dropped Vargas twice en route to what looked to be a superb victory.
However, scores of 114-112 to Vargas, 116-110 to Ball, and 113-113 robbed the Briton of the title via a shocking draw.
Israil Madrimov is the new WBA Super-welterweight champion after a superlative performance against 25-0 Magomed Kurbanov.
In addition, Madrimov, labeled the new GGG, had too much power and got the stoppage.
Read more about experienced boxing writer Phil Jay featuring all articles by the long-time World Boxing News Editor.
Follow WBN: X.com, Facebook, Instagram, Blue Sky, and Threads.
