Round-by-Round: Anthony Joshua vs Francis Ngannou | PPV - 8 March 2024

[polecateddy]

On the surface Fury didn’t look as shot as Bowe at the end of his career. But had it been a young, ramped up Golota with his steroid ache tossing punches at him rather than the novice Ngannou would he have unravelled just the same?

[TheLeprechaun]

That version of golota would have destroyed fury

[Coco]

Anthony Joshua will lose for the 4th time before finally facing Tyson Fury.

Against who?
For a guy who is on mainstream
You really don’t have a clue do you?
Embarrassing
No wonder AJ just blanks you. (And I’m no AJ fanboy)

Only if he gets Uysk again first!

[Controversial]

On the surface Fury didn’t look as shot as Bowe at the end of his career. But had it been a young, ramped up Golota with his steroid ache tossing punches at him rather than the novice Ngannou would he have unravelled just the same?

Fury may be shot to pieces but I don’t read too much into that Ngannou fight. No way did he prepare the same as he would for AJ or Usyk. Fury is one of those fighters who can often look average if he’s not up for it. The whole thing was more like a WWE event and purely a cash grab for Fury. With hindsight I bet he’s kicking himself that he looked poor but I honestly think he thought he’d easily win, as most of us did tbf.

[margaret thatcher]

still should been easier than that whether he was dedicated or not, i thought he was a world elite hw, he should be able to handle guys like nganou in his sleep. fury has been out of shape and had major discipline issues before but never turned in something that dreadful

he didnt fight andrew golota (world class hw), michael moorer (world class hw), or even bobby czyk (cruiser champ and long time boxer) in there - and vander shut out bobby and stopped him in 5 so it was hardly a struggle. fury instead fought a guy who never boxed (and was ktfo in his 2nd fight), and got dropped, hurt, cut up, and barely won. that's an almost unprecedented level of bad for an active hw champ.

it's catching up to him now - it's a race against the clock to beat usyk and aj

[Nightmare Roy]

his physical transformation from cruiserweight was not something you could achieve naturally.

Not sure I know what you mean

He had Lee Haney, ex multi-time Mr Olympia for a personal conditioning coach for that transformation.

....and a shite load of gear

[deadpan]

Using the ingenious pseudonym "Evan Field" to buy his 'roids still makes me wince and grin simultaneously.

[polecateddy]

I think probably the 1990’s were pretty rife with PED abuse. Certainly track and field was full of cheats. Even fighters with relatively clean cut images such as Lennox Lewis managed to bulk up an extra stone as he reached his peak.

[jamesmcdonnell]

I think probably the 1990’s were pretty rife with PED abuse. Certainly track and field was full of cheats. Even fighters with relatively clean cut images such as Lennox Lewis managed to bulk up an extra stone as he reached his peak.

Lewis never suddently bullked though, his weight gradually crept up over the years, he was never more than 4-5 pounds tops between fights difference, which is quite possible with a different training camp. Of course he may have had assistance, but nothing like Holyfield who was jacked to the gills.

[polecateddy]

I think probably the 1990’s were pretty rife with PED abuse. Certainly track and field was full of cheats. Even fighters with relatively clean cut images such as Lennox Lewis managed to bulk up an extra stone as he reached his peak.

Lewis never suddently bullked though, his weight gradually crept up over the years, he was never more than 4-5 pounds tops between fights difference, which is quite possible with a different training camp. Of course he may have had assistance, but nothing like Holyfield who was jacked to the gills.

Well I was thinking he’s 229 pounds v Bruno when he’s just turned 28, and then 245 pounds v Holyfield at 34. So that’s 1 stone 2 pounds, and he was lifting weights since his teens, so it’s a bit of a leap. But yes granted, it wasn’t a Holyfield type transformation. Most of the Lewis camps were in Big Bear weren’t they, so very American style prep.

[jamesmcdonnell]

I think probably the 1990’s were pretty rife with PED abuse. Certainly track and field was full of cheats. Even fighters with relatively clean cut images such as Lennox Lewis managed to bulk up an extra stone as he reached his peak.

Lewis never suddently bullked though, his weight gradually crept up over the years, he was never more than 4-5 pounds tops between fights difference, which is quite possible with a different training camp. Of course he may have had assistance, but nothing like Holyfield who was jacked to the gills.

Well I was thinking he’s 229 pounds v Bruno when he’s just turned 28, and then 245 pounds v Holyfield at 34. So that’s 1 stone 2 pounds, and he was lifting weights since his teens, so it’s a bit of a leap. But yes granted, it wasn’t a Holyfield type transformation. Most of the Lewis camps were in Big Bear weren’t they, so very American style prep.

Yeah and it's not like Lewis ever looked really muscular, he was just a big bloke like Bowe. He was pretty lanky when he started out, looked more like a basketballer than a boxer, and most people get a big bigger in their 30s. He looked a bit fleshier later on, rather than pumped.

Yeah big bear was all wood chopping and tyre lifting type training, the kind of thing the old timers did.

I used to speak with a sports conditioning guy years ago, who worked with a lot of athletes, and he said the wood chop was one of the most effective exercises for boxers. At the end of the day, big chest muscles and biceps don't really make you a better puncher, it's the muscles in the back and rear and fore shoulders that generate force, and the timing to coordinate so that you shift momentum from the base through the core and up to upper body. It's like a wave, that starts at the toe and winds through the body.

I was watching old clips of foreman the other day, and he seemed to generate enormous power, with what seemed like a shrug of his shoulders, a lot of his shots looked like arm punches, I reckon he must have had phenomenal natural core strength, some people do. I remember we were all getting hammered one night at this party, and we were doing the plank, I was quite fit at the time, and managed 1 minute 30, and this fat bloke did it, and he did 3 minutes without even breaking a sweat, he gave up through boredom.

[Kilburn]

Surely Tyson was on the gear as well. Didn’t he have a load of weight to swiftly get back on when he came out of prison? Also I don’t recall any Tyson camps alleging Holyfield of juicing over the years, which would be odd considering the ridiculous headbutt accusations after their fights, which unfortunately still circulate to this day all over social media.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Surely Tyson was on the gear as well. Didn’t he have a load of weight to swiftly get back on when he came out of prison? Also I don’t recall any Tyson camps alleging Holyfield of juicing over the years, which would be odd considering the ridiculous headbutt accusations after their fights, which unfortunately still circulate to this day all over social media.

I think the post prison Tyson was definitely on the gear, he was much bulkier and more muscular, and a good deal slower and less flexible. I don't think Tyson trained properly post prison, he was just looking to bash people out of there quickly, and had little finesse.

Early doors tyson had a great jab, which he used to get inside his opponents reach and set up his shots, which had all but dissapeared in his late career, he just bludgeoned his way through, he still had great fundamentals in his footwork but he was much more square on and linear.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Surely Tyson was on the gear as well. Didn’t he have a load of weight to swiftly get back on when he came out of prison? Also I don’t recall any Tyson camps alleging Holyfield of juicing over the years, which would be odd considering the ridiculous headbutt accusations after their fights, which unfortunately still circulate to this day all over social media.

Holyfield definitely used the nut on Tyson, he was a right dirty bastard in their fights, but he totally outmanned him, took serious shots off Tyson in their first fight, and just came back with his own combinations.; their first fight is one of the great heavyweight performances ever.

[polecateddy]

I don’t really think many fighters based in America and making a lot of money would be natural from that era. I imagine there was no such thing as random drug testing in 1990’s boxing. Although I stand to be corrected.

[Kilburn]

Surely Tyson was on the gear as well. Didn’t he have a load of weight to swiftly get back on when he came out of prison? Also I don’t recall any Tyson camps alleging Holyfield of juicing over the years, which would be odd considering the ridiculous headbutt accusations after their fights, which unfortunately still circulate to this day all over social media.

Holyfield definitely used the nut on Tyson, he was a right dirty bastard in their fights, but he totally outmanned him, took serious shots off Tyson in their first fight, and just came back with his own combinations.; their first fight is one of the great heavyweight performances ever.

I'll never get it though, when did Holyfield butt Tyson? Which rounds? Head clashes happened for sure, as they did in just about every Tyson fight (Buster Douglas must have shipped half a dozen in the first round alone). As the guy who dips his knees and rushes at his opponent, it's surely up to Tyson to come up with something else if Holyfield is going to keep his chin down and stand his ground?

Of course it's not really what the fights were remembered for, but I've always felt it unfair on Holyfield when this is brought up, especially given how reckless Tyson was prepared to be with his own head, which pretty much never gets a mention.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Surely Tyson was on the gear as well. Didn’t he have a load of weight to swiftly get back on when he came out of prison? Also I don’t recall any Tyson camps alleging Holyfield of juicing over the years, which would be odd considering the ridiculous headbutt accusations after their fights, which unfortunately still circulate to this day all over social media.

Holyfield definitely used the nut on Tyson, he was a right dirty bastard in their fights, but he totally outmanned him, took serious shots off Tyson in their first fight, and just came back with his own combinations.; their first fight is one of the great heavyweight performances ever.

I'll never get it though, when did Holyfield butt Tyson? Which rounds? Head clashes happened for sure, as they did in just about every Tyson fight (Buster Douglas must have shipped half a dozen in the first round alone). As the guy who dips his knees and rushes at his opponent, it's surely up to Tyson to come up with something else if Holyfield is going to keep his chin down and stand his ground?

Of course it's not really what the fights were remembered for, but I've always felt it unfair on Holyfield when this is brought up, especially given how reckless Tyson was prepared to be with his own head, which pretty much never gets a mention.

An experienced pro like holyfield knew well, that falling in on his shots would result in the nogging crashing in, I'm not making excuses for Tyson, it's what it is. Tyson was always, somewhat ironically given his stature, a shite inside fighter, so it's on him.

Holyfield had Tyson's number, and knew it, he'd been around him when they were young, and faced him down, if Tyson had a baseball bat, he'd still have lost.

[Kilburn]

Holyfield definitely used the nut on Tyson, he was a right dirty bastard in their fights, but he totally outmanned him, took serious shots off Tyson in their first fight, and just came back with his own combinations.; their first fight is one of the great heavyweight performances ever.

I'll never get it though, when did Holyfield butt Tyson? Which rounds? Head clashes happened for sure, as they did in just about every Tyson fight (Buster Douglas must have shipped half a dozen in the first round alone). As the guy who dips his knees and rushes at his opponent, it's surely up to Tyson to come up with something else if Holyfield is going to keep his chin down and stand his ground?

Of course it's not really what the fights were remembered for, but I've always felt it unfair on Holyfield when this is brought up, especially given how reckless Tyson was prepared to be with his own head, which pretty much never gets a mention.

An experienced pro like holyfield knew well, that falling in on his shots would result in the nogging crashing in, I'm not making excuses for Tyson, it's what it is. Tyson was always, somewhat ironically given his stature, a shite inside fighter, so it's on him.

Holyfield had Tyson's number, and knew it, he'd been around him when they were young, and faced him down, if Tyson had a baseball bat, he'd still have lost.

I don't know about you but I was still fearful for Holyfield in the rematch (I think Boxing Monthly even predicted a Tyson revenge win inside 6 rounds). Tyson getting the chance to start fresh from round 1 was still a very scary prospect. I could barely watch.

Weirdly it took me about 20 years to watch the fight again with a fresh pair of eyes, and see just how much Holyfield had him under control from the first bell. He picked up right where he left off.

[NazNaci1]

I don't know about you but I was still fearful for Holyfield in the rematch (I think Boxing Monthly even predicted a Tyson revenge win inside 6 rounds). Tyson getting the chance to start fresh from round 1 was still a very scary prospect. I could barely watch.

Weirdly it took me about 20 years to watch the fight again with a fresh pair of eyes, and see just how much Holyfield had him under control from the first bell. He picked up right where he left off.

I remember watching 2nd the fight live with my Dad and brother and it was the first time I saw 'Iron' Mike intimidated when they were centre ring, listening to the referees instructions.

I told my Dad and brother that Mike would lose, though did not predict it would be like that, it has to be said.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Fight two, my money was on holyfield all the way, he clearly had taken mike's soul in fight one, which i watched again recently. It was an incredible performance, and to be honest, i think Mike went in there, knowing he was very likely to lose.

Ironically, I think had they fought first time out, when I think it was evander got a rib injury, mike would have had a good chance.

[Kilburn]

I don't know about you but I was still fearful for Holyfield in the rematch (I think Boxing Monthly even predicted a Tyson revenge win inside 6 rounds). Tyson getting the chance to start fresh from round 1 was still a very scary prospect. I could barely watch.

Weirdly it took me about 20 years to watch the fight again with a fresh pair of eyes, and see just how much Holyfield had him under control from the first bell. He picked up right where he left off.

I remember watching 2nd the fight live with my Dad and brother and it was the first time I saw 'Iron' Mike intimidated when they were centre ring, listening to the referees instructions.

I told my Dad and brother that Mike would lose, though did not predict it would be like that, it has to be said.

Yeah as much as Holyfield was the good guy in that match up, the camera zooming in on his eyes during that stare down was scary as shit. No wonder Tyson looked a tad uncomfortable.

[jamesmcdonnell]

I don't know about you but I was still fearful for Holyfield in the rematch (I think Boxing Monthly even predicted a Tyson revenge win inside 6 rounds). Tyson getting the chance to start fresh from round 1 was still a very scary prospect. I could barely watch.

Weirdly it took me about 20 years to watch the fight again with a fresh pair of eyes, and see just how much Holyfield had him under control from the first bell. He picked up right where he left off.

I remember watching 2nd the fight live with my Dad and brother and it was the first time I saw 'Iron' Mike intimidated when they were centre ring, listening to the referees instructions.

I told my Dad and brother that Mike would lose, though did not predict it would be like that, it has to be said.

Yeah as much as Holyfield was the good guy in that match up, the camera zooming in on his eyes during that stare down was scary as shit. No wonder Tyson looked a tad uncomfortable.

[quickeyg]

Francis Ngannou said he felt sleepy before the fight.

[The Gratest]

Was he watching Klitschko vs Fury?

[polecateddy]

Was that the cutting edge Talk Sport article which signs off by mentioning Ngannou’s bright future in boxing. Who exactly are they going to find that Ngannou can actually beat?