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Boxing

Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou: UFC star Tom Aspinall makes close prediction for heavyweight showdown

Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou: UFC star Tom Aspinall makes close prediction for heavyweight showdownMatchroom
The UFC's interim heavyweight champion has given his verdict on the matchup.

Whenever a fight involving two huge stars is a reality it gets the whole world talking, and since the announcement of Anthony Joshua's clash with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, everyone in the world of combat sports is giving their predictions for what is one of the biggest events of 2024. 

The latest is the UFC's interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall who expects a close fight after Ngannou showed that he has the ability to share the ring with the best operators at heavyweight. 

"I think it's great what Ngannou has done, I didn't give him a chance against Fury and I think the fight could have gone either way. I think it's great he's got this other massive fight coming up against Anthony Joshua and he's getting paid loads of money," Aspinall told OLBG

"He's obviously an absolute specimen. He's obviously a much better boxer than everyone thought. I think his chances are quite high, beating Joshua.

"If you have asked me that question one year ago I would have said Joshua would have smoked Ngannou easily - in Joshua's last fight he looked really really good, he was really letting his hands go which we haven't seen in a while - but it's a 50/50 fight who, knows what happens.”

Ngannou's upcoming clash with Joshua will be just his second as a professional boxer.

The Cameroonian's debut was in October when he faced WBC world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia and while Ngannou lost on a split decision, he gave a good account himself and even managed to knock Fury down in the third round. 

Now Ngannou will be hoping to shock the boxing world once more when he faces the two-time world heavyweight champion later this year. 

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