It's a widely held belief amongst fans and media that boxers would lose to an MMA fighter in an MMA fight and MMA fighters would lose to a boxer in a boxing fight. It's been proven many times in the boxing ring but, so far, outside of Claressa Shields, not many high-level boxers have transitioned into MMA.
But former UFC champion Demetrious Johnson thinks if that were to happen for a rematch with boxer Anthony Joshua and MMA fighter Francis Ngannou, Joshua would win.
“It’s not like Francis is some world-class kickboxer,” Johnson said on The MMA Hour. “You look at all Francis fights, he does have some submission wins, he does have some where he takes somebody down."
He continued, “But if I can take a guy like Anthony Joshua, who is an athletic specimen, who understands range and distance, and I train him for six months — six months — to defend a takedown, check the leg kick, and just box. You’re not going to have 16-ounce gloves. The distance doesn’t change at all. ... So if I can take somebody who is athletic, which, Anthony Joshua is athletic, it’s an easy fight.”
He also cited Ngannou's fight with former UFC heavyweight champion Stipe Miocic.
“I would go on to say Anthony Joshua is a better boxer than Stipe Miocic. Not a better MMA guy, but in mixed martial arts, I say it all the time: MMA is the easiest sport to become a world champion in. It truly is. you have people who are very good at one thing and have so many holes and deficiencies in their game.”
Joshua and Ngannou fought earlier this year in the boxing ring. Joshua brutally defeated Ngannou with a knockout highlight that went viral within seconds. That performance might be tainting a bit of Johnson's opinion of the fight because he has a very different take on an MMA fight between Joshua and UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones.
“Now, here’s the flip side: How would it go against Anthony Joshua vs. Jon Jones? Different animal,” Johnson said. “Jon Jones would go out there and force the clinch. He would go out there and force the wrestling exchange. Maybe Francis Ngannou would do that, but I don’t think Francis would do that. From the years I’ve seen him fight, that’s how I view that fight. I’m not saying Francis is going to get destroyed, but I do believe [Joshua] has a chance of beating him, because he just knocked him the f*ck out in a boxing match.”
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