Former UFC fighter Dan Hardy believes that Francis Ngannou will beat Anthony Joshua when the two heavyweights clash on March 8 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
This upcoming fight will mark only the second professional boxing match for the MMA fighter, who made headlines by knocking Tyson Fury down in the third round of their bout last year, although he ultimately lost by split decision.
In contrast, Joshua’s most recent fight was against Otto Wallin in December, where he secured a convincing stoppage victory.
The victor of the Joshua vs. Ngannou fight could potentially face off against the winner of the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk showdown for the undisputed heavyweight title on May 18.
In an interview with Sky Sports, Hardy expressed his prediction, favoring Ngannou for the win.
“I’m going with Ngannou genuinely,” he said. “I picked Fury in the last one. I felt Fury was going to be able to catch him in the fifth or sixth round once he started to get tired.
But this for me is a much better match-up for Ngannou. “I feel like AJ’s easier to hit, easier to rattle psychologically and I feel like because of the unknown commodity of Francis Ngannou there’s going to be a shock to the system.”