Anthony Joshua’s new coach Ben Davison has said that his fighter is not taking Francis Ngannou lightly.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the coach acknowledged that the former UFC heavyweight champion is a ‘dangerous man’ and that Joshua cannot be complacent.
Davison coached Joshua to his most impressive performance in years when he stopped Otto Wallin last December in Saudi Arabia.
The two-time champion returns to the Kingdom on March 8 as he prepares to fight Ngannou live on DAZN PPV.
Davison gave credit for Ngannou’s shock performance in a split-decision defeat to Tyson Fury in October.
He said: "It's easy now after the fight for everybody to say: 'Oh Tyson didn't perform' and all the rest of it. But you have to give credit. That man's a dangerous man.
"People can say what they want. But Francis Ngannou had a very, very competitive fight with Tyson, who a lot of people consider to be No. 1 so it's certainly a fight that's going to live up to the billing.
"I've worked with Tyson, I know that he's a true professional. He never takes anything lightly in terms of preparation but sometimes I've also worked with fighters that it's been hard, you try to do everything you can physically, but mentally it's hard to give the opponent that same respect that you probably should, even though you're trying your best to. But Ngannou did shock me.
"You have to look at opponents, what works, what doesn't work, strengths, weaknesses and how you can apply those around a certain type of opponent and his style. So we've been doing and will be doing our homework."
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