Francis Ngannou closing as biggest betting underdog ahead of Anthony Joshua fight since UFC exit
Former undisputed UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou closed as a betting underdog just twice in his Octagon – coming twice against perennial contender, Curtis Blaydes in a pair of initial and rematch knockout wins, however, the Batié native is once more closing as a sizeable betting underdog to beat Anthony Joshua in their March boxing match.
Ngannou, a former undisputed heavyweight titleholder under the banner of the UFC, departed the Dana White-led promotion back in January of last year, following the completion of his contractual obligations in December the year prior.
Exiting in the midst of a stunning six fight winning run, Francis Ngannou enjoyed a roughshod run en route to a title rematch win over Stipe Miocic, before retaining and unifying the heavyweight crowns with a unanimous decision win over the then-unbeaten Ciryl Gane at UFC 270.
And ahead of his blockbuster fight with former two-time world champion boxer, Joshua in March in Saudi Arabia, Ngannou is closing as a whopping +370 betting underdog to beat the Watford native in his sophomore boxing match.
As mentioned, with a host of UFC odds are available on fights coming up – Cameroonian knockout artist, Francis Ngannou closed as a both a betting underdog in his pair of successful outings against incoming UFC 299 feature, Blaydes – coming off the back of underdog odds against WBC champion, Tyson Fury in his August boxing debut.
Making his professional boxing debut back in August in Riyadh to boot, Ngannou, who made a move to the PFL (Professional Fighters League) following his departure from the UFC last January, debuted in a high-profile fight against the unbeaten WBC heavyweight best, Fury.
Forcing the Morecambe native the distance over the course of 12 rounds, Francis Ngannou scored a devastating knockdown on the British heavyweight champion, however, dropped a close, controversial split decision defeat in the pair’s showdown – claiming he was never confident of moving to boxing and landing a judging win on scorecards against a current champion.
And remaining significantly confident of landing a win over Joshua – Ngannou claimed prior to the March matchup that should be land the former on the seat of his trunks – as he did to WBC best, Fury, he had no doubt the Watford native would remain planted.
“The day is set,” Francis Ngannou explained. “It’s two months from now, and if any of them think they are going to have easy money, too bad for them. If AJ (Anthony Joshua) takes the punch that (Tyson) Fury took, I don’t guarantee that he’s [getting back] up. I have heard that he doesn’t have a chin. I’m going to find out.”
“I think he’s still the same fighter,” Francis Ngannou continued. “Being the same fighter doesn’t mean you can’t lose. He lost to Andy Ruiz. He lost to Oleksandr Usyk and he can still lose. By the way, I’m really intending to hand him a loss on March 8. You can still be who you are, but still lose. Nobody is undefeated.”
In the midst of his own impressive winning spree, Joshua has landed three consecutive wins since his title loss to Oleksandr Usyk, turning in a pair of recent knockout wins over both Robert Helenius, and Otto Wallin to boot.
