Ngannou: “I won’t chase a knockout in a fight with Joshua”

Former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is not going to pursue the goal of definitely defeating the former holder of the WBA, WBO and IBF belts Anthony Joshua ahead of schedule, although he understands that he can do it.

“Can I knock out Joshua? Definitely. But I shouldn’t go into the ring thinking, “Oh, I have to knock him out.” Because the knockout should come naturally. The only fight in my career in which I came out for a knockout ended very badly for me - it was against Stipe Miocic (in the first fight with the American, Ngannou lost on points - editor's note). I went into that fight thinking, “Okay, I’ll go knock this dude out,” and I ended up losing.

After that, I decided that I needed to go back to my usual version. Then in my next fights I knocked out opponents in 20, 45 seconds, without chasing a knockout,” Ngannou said in an interview with DAZN.

Let us remind you that the fight between the Cameroonian and the British will take place on March 8 in Saudi Arabia.