22 January 2024 , 15:04
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Francis Ngannou has admitted he has lost the element of surprise ahead of his clash with Anthony Joshua.
Ngannou made his professional boxing debut against Tyson Fury last October, dropping the heavyweight world champion in the third round before going on to lose a controversial split decision. Ngannou has agreed to fight former two-time champion Joshua in Saudi Arabia - but knows his rival will have an advantage over Fury.
"Obviously the most complex now is AJ because I haven't fought him," he told Mail Online. "I watched the fight and he looked good. He was showing all the right signs even though Wallin wasn't threatening anything at all. AJ did his job and did great. Right after the fight I started to think about what could be next.
"I realised next time there won't be the surprise element. Now I'm exposed and everyone will be very prepared. Tyson didn't know exactly what he was getting into. That will make my life more difficult. I don't think the hardest puncher means anything. Anybody can knock anybody out in the heavyweight division. The most important thing is to find your spot and know your punch."
Ngannou insists he was denied victory against Fury and has taken a disliking to boxing politics. "I've been saying this from that night but I was robbed," he added. "But I think I also brought a lot from that fight. The Top 10 and all that stuff, to be honest I'm skeptical towards getting involved in the boxing politics. I'm just here to figure out the good fights and to get them. What happens a lot is boxing politics control some fights and stop great fights from happening, because everyone is concerned about the rankings or positions.
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"They need to win, be at like 20-0, even if it means they haven't fought anybody. That's certainly something I don't really care about. In combat sports it's always risky to take a fight. There's a risk you can lose - of course you want to win. When you want to be world champion, you're going to have to face the most ferocious fighters, elite fighters who have the same dream as you. To keep your dream alive you have to kill somebody."