Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou: Insight and Tips

The heavyweight clash between Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou is the highlight of another fantastic Saudi Arabia fight night on Friday.

Joshua was last seen getting the better of Otto Wallin in December and AJ will be looking to put on a show ahead of the undisputed heavyweight clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk in May.

The Watford man will be looking to get back in the heavyweight title picture, and possibly set up a huge all-British heavyweight contest with Fury, but Ngannou stands in AJ’s way.

The Predator has only one professional boxing contest on his card, but he caused the Gypsy King major problems in Saudi Arabia last October and the former MMA star is unlikely to be an easy man to get past in Riyadh.

Take clues from Ngannou’s performance against Fury

Francis Ngannou to win by stoppage @ 7/2

Joshua is a red-hot 27/100 shot to beat Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on Friday night.

AJ has put together a three-fight winning streak, but a decision victory against Jermaine Franklin was far from convincing and the form of the victories over Otto Wallin and Robert Helenius is extremely questionable.

The British boxer has lost three of his last eight bouts, he was totally outclassed, dominated and hurt by Usyk, stopped, dropped and shocked by Andy Ruiz and there have been clear signs of vulnerability to power in fights against Dillian Whyte and Wladimir Klitschko.

Yes, AJ looked an explosive, powerful and physically dominant heavyweight in the early stages of his career, but that was a long time ago, against extremely limited opponents and there has been very little sign of that version of Joshua as the Watford fighter has moved up in class.

To Joshua’s credit he did alter his approach in the second bout with Usyk, but that was still a fight that the Ukrainian controlled without ever really having to engage.

It’s also worth considering that the 34-year-old's physical peak may have passed, and while the market anticipates that AJ still has the explosive power-packed performances in the tank, there has been little evidence recently to suggest that is the case.

Ngannou has just one professional boxing contest on his card, but it was a seriously impressive performance. Of course, it’s not advisable to get too carried away by one piece of form, but that is all there is to go on when assessing the Predator’s chances and the prices appear to be dismissing the 37-year-old a little lightly.

The Cameroonian dropped Fury in the third round of their Saudi contest in October and Ngannou showed that he has the conditioning and physical strength to throw a high volume of punches and dismiss what was coming back his way.

Clearly, there is a possibility that the Gypsy King was below his best in that contest, but there is also a chance that Ngannou was simply very good and uncertainty shouldn’t always be viewed as a negative.

The Predator showed he can knock down an undefeated WBC heavyweight champion and it’s quite possible that the 37-year-old could improve for that first outing in a boxing ring.

Fury is famed for his resilience and ability to recover when taking a big shot, but Joshua has more questions to answer in that department and, at 7/2, Ngannou looks a cracking bet to win Friday’s fight by stoppage.

Predator could punish weakened prey

Francis Ngannou to score over 1.5 knockdowns @ 12/1

Ngannou took just three rounds to drop Fury when the pair clashed in Saudi Arabia in October, and if the powerful Predator does make the breakthrough against Joshua, the 12/1 on offer about the 37-year-old knocking AJ to the canvas on two or more occasions will look a very big price.

AJ was sent to the floor four times in his first contest with Ruiz, he hit the deck against Klitschko and the Watford man was extremely close to being dropped when meeting Usyk for the first time.

There are clear signs of a vulnerability to power, Ngannou has shown he has the ability to drop arguably the best boxer in the division and the Predator is unlikely to let his prey escape.