Francis Ngannou has defended his performance in losing to Anthony Joshua with a strange excuse for his knockout defeat.
There were high hopes for the former UFC fighter when he stepped into the ring with Joshua last weekend, following his impressive boxing debut against Tyson Fury in 2023.
Ngannou went the full distance with Fury, even knocking him to the floor, which raised expectations for his showdown with Joshua.
However, the Cameroonian failed to land a glove on AJ and was knocked down three times in the first two rounds, with the final blow dramatically ending the contest.
Sharing his thoughts on the fight, Ngannou took to Instagram Live, and his questionable excuse for losing has been shared by TheMacLife.
“Leading up to that fight, it wasn’t my day," he said.
"Not to say the result would have been different but it wasn’t my day. At any moment of the day, I felt like I wasn’t good to go.
“Even in the locker room, trying warm up, it wasn’t going well I was falling asleep. I was sweating but I was falling asleep. That’s why I took some time out for me, some time to reflect on everything that happened to me.
“Heads up to Anthony Joshua, they did everything right. Heads up to my team too, we did everything properly but I didn’t execute the plan because I didn’t feel present.”
The 37-year-old also confirmed that he's not done with boxing despite the loss in Saudi Arabia and will return after taking time to reflect on his loss.
“I am not done yet. The only thing missing here was time," he added
"I will take some time for myself to chill, then come back to training to get ready for another challenge.”
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