Some boxing fans in Lagos have continued to pour encomiums on Anthony Joshua for his massive victory over Francis Ngannou.
Ngannou is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champion and Cameroonian/French professional boxer.
The fans told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in separate interviews on Saturday, that Joshua had lived up to the expectations and that deserved the world title shot.
Joshua, in a masterly fashion, ended the fight in a two rounds after well combination of blows landed Ngannou and sent him down to the canvass.
Ngannou had never been floored in his career, but that quickly changed in the first round, and he unfortunately never recovered from that devastating blow in the second round.
The boxing bout tagged “Knockout Chaos” was meant to go for 10 rounds non title bout, but Joshua would do the unbelievable to end it at the second round.
After the fact that Joshua a former two-time unified heavyweight world champion, Ngannou was a undisputed former mixed martial arts heavyweight champion with UFC.
The fight was held in Ryadh, Saudi Arabia.
Joshua is now expected to face off against Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk, with their fight finally taking place on May 18 in their heavyweight bout.
Femi Adekoya, a boxing fan, told NAN that he was delighted for Joshua and believed that he was a noble champion of the sport.
He said that a lot of people had written him off after he lost on two occasions to Oleksandr Usyk, but winning four straight boxing bouts now put him on a very good clout.
“Joshua should not be underrated; he has proven his qualities and should be respected and given a fair chance of going for world heavyweight title belt.
“I believe solidly in him. Indeed, he is a true champion of the sport and should not be underrated at any given time,” Adekoya said.
Similarly, Remi Aboderin, the Secretary General, Nigeria Boxing Board of Control (NBB of C), said that it was a great outing for Joshua.
“Initially, I thought the five rounds would get up to six rounds where Anthony Joshua would unleash his qualities especially his devastating powered punch.
“The qualities of AJ prove his worth once again, indeed, he is a great entertainer and one that should be respected in the world of boxing.
“Now, he can concentrate and wait for the winner between Usyk and Tyson Furry which comes up in May.
“I see AJ coming back to be crowned world heavyweight champion of the world,” Aboderin said.
Chinnedu Okafor, another boxing fan, described the match as a world class fight that lived up to the hype and expectations.
He said that AJ was in a blistering form and had raised a lot of peoples confidence not to underrate him or downgrade his qualities.
He said that AJ would be in a more devastating form against any opponent that come his way.
“AJ is a great boxer, he has proved time and time that he is combatant ready to fight anyone in the ring.
“We wait on to see him contest for the WBC and other title belts in 2024. Indeed, this victory has put him in a nice position for the book makers,” Okafor said.(NAN)
